The Secrets We Hide
by Queen of Juiceboxes
Summary: She was being tortured in the most gruesome of ways and what made matters worse was she couldn't tell a single soul, not even her own husband, Ichigo. This is a story about Rukia and how she must give herself up to protect the ones she loves.
1. Goodnight

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

Just to let everyone know, this is more of an introduction and explanations of things (as most first chapters are) so please read and enjoy it!!

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.1 Goodnight

"Kurosaki-san? Hello? Kurosaki-san?" Hanatarou shouted through the doorway. He really hated coming all the way to Rukia's bedroom but he had no choice.

Some grumbling and shuffling around was heard for a few minutes and finally Rukia answered the door. "What is it Hanatarou?" She asked groggily. Hanatarou tried not to blush. The only thing covering her body was a thin robe that she failed to tie on properly. The front was opened and traveled well, pretty far down.

"Yes Hanatarou?" Rukia asked annoyed. "Oh right! Sorry! I have a message from Ukitake-taichou." She nodded for him to proceed.

"He said he wanted to see you today around noon, he had a few matters to discuss with you about a mission." Hanatarou said nervously. Rukia's clothing was really distracting him. "Why didn't he send someone from my squad?" She asked.

"Well I just happened to be in the area so he asked me." He said scratching the back of his neck and chuckling. She smiled and rolled her eyes. "He's just too lazy to find one of his own men to pass on the message." She muttered smirking.

"Thanks Hanatarou. I'll see you around I guess." She said. He smiled at her and couldn't stop himself from glancing down one more time. After gulping nervously, he grinned and walked away.

As she closed the door Rukia finally realized why Hanatarou was so nervous around her and quickly pulled her kimono closer to her body blushing slightly. "What was that all about?" A voice from behind asked sleepily.

"Just a message from Hanatarou saying that my captain wants to chat with me later." She responded, sitting down next to her husband. "That's sort of weird that Hanatarou sent it." Ichigo responded.

"He said he was in the area and the captain told him what to do." She said smiling. "Ok, well let's go back to sleep." Ichigo said, pulling an arm around Rukia. She pushed it away.

"It's 10:30 in the morning Ichigo. So come on and get up." She said pushing on Ichigo's bare shoulder. He sighed and turned flat on his back.

"You really are annoying." He muttered. That comment earned him a slightly harder shove to his shoulder. Rukia stood up and started to change into her clothes. She noticed that Ichigo was being rather quiet.

Curiously, she turned to look at him. He was still lying on his back with his arms pulled behind his head. He had the biggest smirk on his face. "What's so interesting?" She asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Not much, just enjoying you changing your clothes in front of me." She rolled her eyes and pulled the rest of her clothes on. "Why did I have to marry such a pervert?" She asked.

He chuckled. "My father is a pervert, not me." He said sarcastically. "Like father like son!" Rukia exclaimed. She picked up her kimono that was lying on the ground and threw it into the hamper.

"Now really Ichigo, get up." She demanded. He laid there for another minute or so and finally stood up, the only thing he was wearing were boxers. "Well aren't you going to enjoy me changing?" He asked. Without glancing at him she shrugged her shoulders.

"There's not much to enjoy." She waited for him to walk over to her and say something else, but he never came. Rukia finally looked up at him and saw his clothes already on.

"What no interception?" She asked. He shrugged his shoulders mockingly. "I offered you enjoyment but you rejected it, sorry." She placed her hands on her hips.

"Why should I enjoy it when I can get it anytime?" She asked seductively. Ichigo was shocked by her words but he stayed calm. "Not anytime Rukia." He threatened back daringly.

She walked up to him slowly and placed her hands on his shoulders. "Oh really?" She whispered into his ear. He blushed slightly, yes, after seven years of being married to the little midget, he was blushing.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "Then try it." He whispered back. She giggled quietly and started to move her face to his. Just as she moved to close the small gap between their lips, there was another knock at the door.

"Kurosaki-taichou!" A boy yelled while banging on the door. Ichigo immediately removed himself from Rukia and opened the door.

"What is it Haru?" Ichigo asked his vice captain. "Uh, right, well," the boy tried to think. "Oh yes now I remember! There's a captain's meeting at 3 today, so don't be late, and there's also a bunch of paperwork that needs to get done!" The boy shouted.

Ichigo rubbed the back of his head. "Alright, thanks for remindin me." Ichigo muttered as Haru turned around and left. Haru was a great vice captain, but he could be really obnoxious sometimes.

Rukia was chuckling behind him. "Looks like you have a great little vice captain." She said. Ichigo sighed. "I really do forget about that stuff easily, so it's a good thing I have him to keep me in track, but honestly, he's more of a nagger than you, my own wife."

"Well I better get going. I have some paper work to do myself." Rukia said, glancing at the time. "We can't all be captains you know."

"We can't all be vice captains either." Ichigo said grinning. Rukia kissed him on the lips and opened the door. "I guess I'll see you tonight then." She said, opening the door.

Rukia started to walk out but Ichigo grabbed her arm. "Ichigo?" She asked as she was spun around. Her lips immediately met his again, but this time he deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, letting the moment last a bit longer than necessary.

When he pulled away slightly he smiled. "Yah, I'll see you later." He said. Rukia kissed him one last time and finally strolled down the hallway.

She couldn't stop the smile that curved on her lips. Rukia felt truly happy. "Ichigo" She whispered, chuckling to herself.

Rukia decided to walk to her division instead of using shunpo, which she wasn't too great at anyways. The sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so she decided to enjoy the moment.

Her life had changed so drastically since the first moment she met Kurosaki Ichigo. She saved him, and then he saved her, again and again. Everybody knew the story. But what a lot of people in Soul Society didn't know about was how the two truly fell in love.

After everything happened with Aizen, things quickly settled down in Soul Society. Rukia was asked pretty soon afterwards to become the vice captain to the 13th squad, which she was surprised by. She gladly took the position and felt quite proud of herself.

But because she had become vice captain, she was always busy. Rukia could rarely go and visit Ichigo, which was pretty hard on the two. The longer Rukia was away, the more Ichigo missed her and thought about her.

As Ichigo grew older and older, the distance that Rukia and Ichigo spent away from each other continued to increase. At one point, Rukia didn't see Ichigo for a year.

When Ichigo turned 25, another terrorizing enemy struck Soul Society and the human world, causing Ichigo to have to once again fight. He hadn't fought much in the past years before that, so he was worried about the oncoming battle.

But of course, he shocked everyone by somehow being even stronger than when he had fought Aizen. After Ichigo defeated the enemy and his fifty hench-men on his own, Soul Society finally decided to do something about Ichigo's immense powers.

Ichigo was offered a position as the 3rd division's captain just a year later. After training a bit more and taking several tests, Ichigo moved into Soul Society permanently and was given the honor of captain.

Due to the many absences away from Rukia, he felt he couldn't stay away from her any longer. They both got to see one another much more than before. One thing led to another, and after five years of sneaking around, Ichigo finally proposed to the girl.

Lucky for him, Byakuya agreed to the wedding. Byakuya said that the only reason he allowed the marriage was because Ichigo was now a captain and good enough for his baby sister to marry.

So now, seven years later, Ichigo and Rukia worked in Soul Society where they lived happily together. Of course it wasn't always happy and fun. They both had missions to go on and enemies to fight. Rukia sometimes stayed up late worrying about her husband who could sometimes get too big in the head and Ichigo was well, Ichigo.

No matter what Rukia would do, he would always be overprotective of her. Rukia was much stronger now, not being capable of reaching bankai anytime soon, but she had achieved several more abilities with her zanpaktou and had completely mastered her older techniques.

But Ichigo still had to once in a while travel with her to exterminate hollows where he would always be the one to fend them off instead of Rukia. Sometimes they didn't see each other for months at a time. Ichigo had a division to run and Rukia was well aware of that.

It sometimes made things better when they were apart from one another. Just like any married couple (especially with Ichigo and Rukia) they could sometimes get pretty into their fighting. Rukia would leave on a mission furious at her husband, but by the time the mission was done, she missed him and was of course no longer angry at him.

Every time they were apart from one another, their love only grew somehow. Ichigo could sometimes get distracted at his division by thinking about her and Rukia would end up getting yelled at by her captain because she wouldn't finish the needed paper work due to her wondering thoughts.

Ichigo and Rukia were quite good at the marriage thing now-a-days. Seven years probably doesn't seem like that long of a time for the two, but in reality, it felt like a century. Ichigo now devoted his life to Soul Society, and he would be there for the rest of eternity.

Sometimes he felt a little bit afraid knowing that Rukia was going to be his wife forever, but he knew he shouldn't think like that. "We have to live not knowing what to expect Ichigo." Rukia had said to him once a few years ago.

"We don't know what lies down the road, but if we are prepared, we can get through anything." Those words made Ichigo smile. He thought they were sort of korny at first, but she was right.

Ichigo had changed so much. He still had a scowl on his face, but when the time was right, it would disappear. Ichigo was much more sensitive and mature than he used to be, especially with Rukia. They still argued like they used to when they first met, but they understood one another 100 percent. Rukia wouldn't have to say a word and Ichigo would immediately know that something was bothering her.

Ichigo had always been a leader in a way, but he now controlled a segment of Soul Society, so somewhere in the years, he fully understood how to take charge. Ichigo still talked sarcastically to his comrades and officers, but he was no longer depressed like he had been when he was a teen, he was truly happy.

"Great, I guess I better go to the meeting." Ichigo mumbled. Flying out the window, Ichigo hastily made his way towards the meeting.

"Kurosaki-san?" One of the younger shinigami asked. "How will we know if the hollow is around?"

Rukia smiled at her young comrades. "You have to be able to sense it. Hollows have a sort of different reiatsu than shinigami so you just have to know what it is." The young shinigami still looked confused.

"Well how will we know though?" Rukia looked out at the sky. "I'll be taking you to the real world soon so that we can begin your training with hollows."

"Rukia, come here for a second." Her captain called with a grin set on his face. "Yes sir!" She shouted.

"The meeting already finished?" Rukia asked confused. "Yah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Ukitake's face became serious.

"It seems there's another enemy hiding around in the human world. Your husband, Hitsugaya, and I were asked to go and investigate with a few other people." Rukia's eyes averted downwards.

Ichigo had only been home for a week and he already had to leave on another mission. "When do you leave?" She asked sadly. "Tomorrow morning." He responded.

She sighed. "Do you have any idea of how long this one will be?" She asked. "I don't know at this point. It could be a few days or it could be a few weeks. When we find out more about it I'll be sure to tell you."

Ukitake turned to look at the shinigami training. "They're getting better Rukia; you're doing a great job training them." She let a small smile escape her lips. "They've all been working hard. I told them we'll be going to fight some hollows soon."

Ukitake chuckled. "They just don't get to see enough of hollow action when they are in school. You should probably wait until this problems clears before taking them for safety reasons." She nodded in agreement. "That's what I was thinking."

"Alright, well train with them for a few more hours, finish your paperwork, and go home." Ukitake said. He had a warm smile on his face. Out of all the captains (minus Ichigo) she really looked up to him. He was very considerate and caring.

She nodded her head and walked back over to the shinigami. "Watch your footage!" She yelled at one of the smaller girls. After finishing everything, she quickly returned home.

Rukia figured Ichigo would still be with his division, but she hoped that he had gotten home early due to his oncoming mission.

She walked into their mansion and headed up the stairs. She turned down the hallway and opened her bedroom door. The room was completely empty. Rukia tried to see if Ichigo's reiatsu was anywhere nearby, but she couldn't pick it up.

The sorrow Rukia felt inside was starting to release itself. She hated getting upset about Ichigo leaving, but she couldn't help it, he was going to be gone for who knows how long. Rukia hated acting like a worried wife.

She changed into her yukata, feeling tired suddenly and collapsed onto her futon. Before Rukia fell asleep, a few tears flowed down her soft cheeks.

She was sort of surprised by the strange wetness, for Rukia rarely cried. "Don't let it bother you Rukia. If I think about it too much then I'll be depressed the whole time." She whispered.

"Rukia, are you talking to yourself?" Ichigo asked as he walked in the room. She quickly sat up and wiped the tears away from her eyes. If Ichigo saw her crying, he would be worrying about her the entire night.

Unfortunately, the first thing he saw was Rukia's slightly red eyes and her attempt to wipe away her evidence. Letting the concern sink into his face, he crept down next to her.

"Hey, why are you cryin?" He asked softly. She shook her head and didn't look up at him. "I'm not crying." She whispered. Ichigo caressed a hand across her cheek. "Then how come your cheeks are wet?"

"You better get to sleep pretty soon Ichigo. You have to leave in the morning." She said, keeping her head down. It all made sense now.

"So, I'm guessing Ukitake already told you about it?" He asked. She just nodded her head. "I don't think I'll be gone for too long, so don't worry so much about it."

She finally looked at him, another tear falling. "You've only been back for a week, and you already have to leave on another mission." Ichigo sighed. "Rukia, you know there's nothing I can do about that. I don't decide when I go on missions."

"I know. I don't know why I'm crying really." She chuckled, wiping a tear from her face. Ichigo knew why.

His last mission had lasted for three months and only after a week of being home he now had to go on another one. It was hard to be away from Rukia for so long and then barely get a chance to actually be with her, but he had no choice.

"It's ok Rukia." He whispered, wrapping his arm around her waist. He pulled her into his lap and leaned against the wall. "We've hardly been around each other. I promise when I get back, I'll make it up to you."

Rukia smiled warmly at her husband. It was rare that Ichigo was this sensitive towards her, and she absolutely loved it. She tightened her grip around his kimono and kissed his shoulder.

He leaned his head down towards Rukia, his hair falling into his face slightly. "Rukia" He whispered. She breathed in his scent and kissed his neck. He turned his head more so that Rukia was facing him.

He brought his head forward more and latched his lips onto Rukia's. She wrapped her arms around his neck and placed her legs onto his. He pressed his hands onto her back and pushed her closer to him.

This kiss quickly became intense and Rukia's hand ran through his hair. They somehow moved to the futon and Ichigo hovered over Rukia. He started to kiss her neck and she closed her eyes, enjoying his touch.

"Ichigo, Ichigo." She whispered with a hint of demand. He stopped abruptly and moved his head to her face. "What is it?" He asked breathlessly. She smiled at him.

"Let's just go to sleep." He was sort of surprised at first, but smiled back at her, kissing her one last time. "Yah, I'm pretty tired."

Instead of climbing off of Rukia, he moved his head to her chest and moved his body to the side. He placed his hands around her small waist and closed his eyes. She ran her fingers through his hair and they stayed there silently, enjoying the company of the other.

Because Ichigo left so often, Rukia told him not to say goodbye to her when he left, it just made it too hard. So she knew that he would be gone in the morning.

She was pretty used to it after seven years, but it could still be hard at times. Ichigo kissed her collar bone and lifted his head to face her.

"I guess this is goodnight then. I love you." He whispered. She grinned light.

"Goodnight, I love you too." He kissed her lightly on the lips and laid his head back down.

She kept her left arm around his head and wrapped her other arm around his back. They both fell asleep, knowing that in the morning, they wouldn't see each other for a while. They weren't sure how long it would be, but they knew that the time apart was going to be difficult

"Everything is working out exactly as I want to." A man wearing a cloak whispered to himself looking at an image of Ichigo and Rukia sleeping. "Rukia, you'll be mine very soon."

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**Authors note:** Oh man I absolutely loved writing this first chapter! I know it was a lot on Ichigo and Rukia's relationship and not on the plot, but I couldn't help myself and decided to write all about how they got together and stuff xD. So tell me what you guys thought about it! And if Ichigo and Rukia seemed sort of OOC or anything (like at the end) sorry. But I think it's hard for them to not be a bit OOC because it's 17 years in the future! I hope you guys liked it! **Please REVIEW!!!**


	2. Just the Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

Yay! Ch.2! You'll get to know more about Rukia in this chapter and the plot. This story is pretty intense (at least I think so) so I hope you guys like it!

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.2 Just the Beginning

Rukia fluttered her eyes open the next morning, feeling a bit colder than usual. She glanced to the right of her to see that she was alone. "He's gone." She whispered.

Deciding not to think much about it, she quickly got dressed. "Lucky for me today is a busy day." She said, putting her clothes on. Rukia had a vice captain meeting that would last a few hours, she had to train some of the shinigami in her division, and her brother wanted her to come by and visit.

Rukia loved busy days like this because it could keep her mind off of her husband. Seeing that she had a little bit of free time before the meeting, she decided to go and chat with a friend of hers.

"Kurosaki-san! I'm so glad you came by!" Hinamori called out. She hugged the smaller girl and let her inside. "Well sit down and we'll chat." Hinamori exclaimed.

Rukia smiled and sat down. "So Hinamori, how are you?" Rukia asked. Hinamori shrugged her shoulders. "Things are alright at the moment. Toshirou had to leave on his mission this morning, so I'm a little sad about that."

Rukia nodded. "Yah, Ichigo left too." Hinamori looked confused. "Oh, I didn't know your husband was going on the mission. He's only been back for a week right?"

"Yep, just a week ago. But it's ok, there's nothing we can really do about it anyways." Hinamori nodded in agreement. "So when is the wedding?" Rukia asked. To this statement, Hinamori perked up.

"Well, Toshirou and I aren't really sure yet because we don't know when he has to leave on missions, but I'd say in the next few months." Hinamori said smiling sadly. Rukia rolled her eyes. "That's what you said last month."

Hitsugaya had really grown up in the past seventeen years. He was no longer the short boy that everyone knew and made fun of. He reached several inches taller than Ichigo, making his looks even more handsome than before.

Hinamori laughed nervously. "It's just hard to find the time, your husband isn't the only one gone a lot." Rukia laughed too, but with a hint of sadness.

"Come to think of it, if my brother hadn't been the one to set up the marriage then we probably would have waited a long time too." Rukia said. "I don't mind waiting. I know we'll eventually get married." Hinamori mumbled blushing slightly.

"Well we better get going to the meeting." Rukia said standing up. Hinamori followed and they made their way to the meeting.

When they arrived all of the vice captains were there. There were new faces and old faces. One person Rukia recognized was Ichigo's vice captain Haru. She smiled at him and made her way to Matsumoto.

"Oi! Rukia!" Matsumoto cried patting the girl's back. "I haven't seen you in a while, how are you?" Rukia only sighed. "Things are ok at the moment."

"Alright everyone, let's start the meeting." Izuru Kira said, standing up in front of everyone.

The meeting was pretty standard. A few new rules were set for everyone and talks about previous missions were spoken of. "Alright Kurosaki, please give us your report."

Rukia stood up from her seat and looked at everyone around her. "The division is doing pretty well for this time of year. The new shinigami are training and moving at a pace faster and greater than those of previous years. The only problem I am seeing is it seems the new shinigami don't understand enough about hollows. I don't know if we can do anything about this, but when we were younger, we knew a great deal about hollows before entering into a division. If we could maybe do or say something about this, I would greatly appreciate ate it. That is all from the thirteenth division." With that said, Rukia sat back down.

Matsumoto stood up. "I am having the same problem in my division. The new shinigami don't know enough about the hollows. I took them to the real world a few days ago and they were scared out of their minds. Don't they see hollows while training at the academy?" She asked. Izuru stood up.

"I'll tell my captain, Yamamoto-taichou, about these problems." Everyone nodded in agreement and the meeting continued.

Once the meeting was finished, all of the vice captains left the building and departed into their different ways. Rukia had become good friends with Hinamori and Matsumoto.

"Well since my captain's gone, I have to run the division." Matsumoto complained, scratching her head. "Same here." Rukia replied.

"I hate paperwork!" Matsumoto shouted. "I guess I better go then, I'll talk to you guys later!" She yelled and disappeared.

"I better go too. Sentaro and Kiyone are probably fighting." Rukia said sighing. Hinamori giggled. "Yes, Abarai-taichou probably wants me to get back too." They both waved at each other and went their separate ways.

When Rukia arrived at her division, she was surprised to see that everything was actually under control. The newer shinigami were sparring with one another, and all of the others were working on whatever needed to get done.

"Kurosaki-fukutaichou!" A man yelled as he approached her. "Yes, what is it?" She asked. He handed her a note. "Instruction from Ukitake-taichou." She took the note from his hand.

"Thank you." She said. The man bowed and walked away. She immediately rolled her eyes and sighed as the first thing on the note mentioned "lots of paperwork". Honestly, why did so much paperwork need to get done?

The rest of the note talked about what the seated officers and everyone else in the division needed to do. She folded the note and stuck it in her free pocket. "First thing's first, training."

One thing Rukia enjoyed doing was teaching the younger shinigami. It amazed her at how fast they learned. They sort of reminded her of herself when she first joined the division.

She even allowed them to call her "Kurosaki-san" to make them feel more comfortable, while the rest of the division had to call her by her proper name. Rukia wanted them to have someone to look up to, just like her old vice captain had done for her.

Even though she worked them pretty had, she always gave them breaks, where she would try to talk to them all and get to know them. They were all shy at first, but they were slowly warming up to the short woman.

After hours of training, Rukia allowed them to leave and she went to check on the rest of her squad. "Sentaro, Kiyone, what are you two doing?" She asked as she walked into their small little office.

They were fighting about something. She always thought that in the many years they worked in this division that they would stop their silly antics, but they were exactly the same, except a little older now.

"Oh! Sorry Kurosaki-fukutaichou!" They shouted in unison. "We were just filing these papers Ukitake-taichou requested!" Rukia folded her arms and nodded. "Good, try to finish it by tonight ok?" They nodded and she left the room.

Rukia felt proud of herself, like she really was the actual captain of the division. "Maybe I'll be captain in a hundred years." She thought to herself. If she wanted to be captain, then she needed to achieve bankai which wouldn't be for a long time.

Her thoughts wondered to her idiot husband, who had in just three mere days achieved bankai. She shook her head, not wanting to get distracted at the moment. Rukia had done a pretty good job of keeping him off her mind, and she wanted it to continue that way.

She finally retired to the office where she had double the paper work to due. "Great, I hope ni-sama won't be angry that I'll be coming by late." She muttered.

The harsh work of doing paperwork began. She signed her signature at least a hundred times and had to stack papers into the right files.

After three hours of doing the loathsome work, she left her division. "Well it's only 8 o'clock, not too late." She thought to herself as she walked up to the Kuchiki mansion.

Byakuya always visited with Rukia at least once a month to see how she was doing. Over the years Byakuya had been kinder to her. He would always have his cold and emotionless stare, but the fact that he took time out of his very busy schedule to talk to her was a big deal.

"Kuchiki-sama, your sister is here." A servant called. A moment later, Rukia entered the room. Byakuya was sitting on a small couch. In front of him was a tea kettle and two cups.

In all honestly, Byakuya reserved that room for special visits from guests like Rukia. "Ni-sama, sorry I'm so late." She apologized, taking a seat across from him.

A servant poured some tea into both cups. "It's fine. You must be busy with your captain being gone." He replied back emotionlessly.

Rukia smiled lightly and took a small sip from her tea. She really didn't like tea all that much, but she felt it would be rude to not accept the drink from her brother's generosity.

"How are you?" He asked, looking directly at her. She looked away, not being able to handle his intense stare. "I'm fine. I'm just trying to get all the work that needs to be done within the division. It's a little more stressful with the captain being gone." Rukia responded.

She hated complaining to her brother, but she didn't know what else to say. "I see. Yes, it can be stressful at times, but it will pay off." Byakuya said, sipping on his tea lightly.

"How is Kurosaki?" Byakuya managed to spit out. He did care for Ichigo, but he would still always grow with irritation by the fact that on several occasions, Ichigo had fought Byakuya and beaten him every single time.

"He's on another mission. There's been some sort of attack in the human world, but you know all about it." Rukia said. Of course Byakuya would know, even if he wasn't a captain he would probably somehow find out.

"Yes, I know about it. I'm sure Kurosaki will handle himself just fine." Byakuya muttered.

"I know he'll be alright, but I can't help but worry." Rukia responded and put her cup down. "Well I wish I could visit more, but I should probably head back home. Tomorrow is another busy day and I have to get up early." Rukia said, rising to her feet.

Byakuya stood along with her and walked her to the door. "Please be careful Rukia." Byakuya said with an almost caring hint in his voice. Rukia smiled. "Don't worry Ni-sama, I'll be fine."

She waved goodbye to him and left the Kuchiki mansion. The visits with him always lasted that short amount of time, but enough to satisfy Byakuya. He was after all a man of few words.

Rukia then remembered why she hated visiting her brother at night. She thought that he would surely make Rukia and Ichigo live in the mansion or close by his home, but she instead was given a large home very far away.

Deciding to practice her horrible shunpo, she started to make her way to her house. Embarrassed at how slow her movements still seemed, she felt thankful that no one stood outside to see her.

She wouldn't even allow Ichigo to her see her shunpo skills. Ichigo didn't even know that she had been training. Rukia shook her head for the millionth time that day so that she wouldn't think of Ichigo.

Rukia made the mistake of hitting a loose board on a building and started falling to the ground. Lucky for her she turned her body so that she hit the ground feet and hands first.

Right after she landed onto the cold dirt floor, she slowly stood up and brushed the dirt off of her clothes. Checking for scratches, she decided to walk for the rest of the way.

"I'm halfway, I can do this." Rukia thought to herself, feeling a little silly about being afraid. She laughed at herself as she strolled down the dark alleyways of Seireitei.

Rukia then heard footsteps coming from behind and stopped dead in her tracks. She listened for a long time, and after not hearing anything she continued to walk home.

The footsteps continued once again and she paused, only to hear silence. She looked around and tried to sense another reiatsu, but felt nothing. "Come on Rukia, get a hold of yourself." She thought.

Just as she turned a corner, a black object jumped in front of her and leaped towards her. Rukia jumped out of the way and reached for her sword, but whatever attacked moved with great speed and stopped her before she could attack.

The black blob ran into her, knocking her to the ground. She could now see that this blob was a person wearing a black cloak. Rukia tried kicking the person off but her body wouldn't move under the person's grasp.

She went to scream but something covered her mouth and everything went black.

Rukia slowly opened her eyes, but she couldn't see anything around her. She tried to move her hand but it wouldn't budge. Voices could be heard all around her.

The only thing Rukia could make out clearly was someone saying her name. "She's awake." A voice hissed. Rukia tried to lift her head to see if that would help, but it wouldn't move either.

Footsteps now approached Rukia and she felt a bit afraid. Something touched her head and before she knew it, Rukia could see everything.

A person wearing a black cloak covering their face held what looked like a bandana. "Sorry Rukia, we weren't sure when you would wake up, so we kept you blind folded." The person said. The voice snarled and pierced through Rukia's ears. How did they know her name?

She went to say something, but instead went into a coughing fit. "Oh dear Rukia, please take it easy." The person said. He walked over to her and sat her up against the wall.

Rukia realized that no shackles or knots kept her tied down. "Am I paralyzed?" She thought. She looked around the room.

On one side of the dark room sat a bed next to a nightstand. The walls were dark brown and the room only gloomed with more darkness due to all windows being absent. After coughing one last time, Rukia found her voice.

"Where am I?" She demanded. Another person in a dark cloak walked up next to the first person, a deck of cards in his hand. They both laughed.

"Rukia, now why would we tell you something like that?" The second person asked.

"Tell me!" She tried to shout. They still wouldn't answer to her. The only parts of their faces that Rukia could see were their smirking lips. Her body still wouldn't move.

"Why can't I move?" She asked. They laughed again and still didn't say anything. It was safe to say that Rukia was now furious.

"We have a proposition for you Rukia." The first person said crouching low next to her. Rukia assumed the two to be men due to their deep voices.

"We've been watching you for quite some time now." The second one said, walking back in forth across the room. He kept shuffling the deck of cards in his hands. "And we have a great interest in you."

Rukia only let them continue to speak, trying to figure out someway to escape or move her body. She averted her eyes to see that her sword was gone. "You have something, well a lot of something that we want."

Fear began to sink into her mind. Ichigo's face popped into her head and she couldn't control what slipped out of her mouth.

"What do you want with Ichigo?" She hissed, staring at the two ferociously. The man in front of her turned and looked at the man pacing around the room with the deck or cards who looked back at him. They both laughed even more hysterically than before.

"Oh Rukia, you really are amusing." The man in front of her said, placing a hand on her leg and scooting closer to her. Rukia tried to move away but couldn't do to her body not being able to move.

"This does in a way have to do with your husband, but he's not the main focus here." Rukia didn't understand.

"Then what do you want?" She asked, having the ability to now move her head. Was whatever spell that was paralyzing her body wearing off? The two men only chuckled now.

"As we stated earlier, you have something that we want Rukia." She tried to think of everything possible thing that they would want and she could think of nothing. Though of course, Rukia once had the hougyoku in her body, and she hadn't been aware of it until it was finally taken out.

"Then what is it?" Rukia snapped back, trying to move any other part of her body. To her luck, her fingers started wiggling.

The man with the deck of cards now stood next to Rukia as well. "The answer is simple Rukia." He whispered moving closer to her face.

Once he was next to her earr, he whispered

"Your body."

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**Authors note:** Woah Creepy! They want her!! I know you guys probably think I am sick and demented, but I've really wanted to write a story like this so please forgive me and I hope you all liked it. I also let you guys get more of a taste of what Rukia does as vice captain. I totally made up a lot of the stuff though due to the fact that I have no idea what she would really be doing. I hope you all like it so far. I'm really enjoying writing this, probably more than any of my other stories so please **REVIEW!** Tell me what you like about it! (And if you must, you can flame, but please be nice about it)

In the next chapter, you will learn more about these two strange men that want Rukia for who knows why.


	3. The Deck of Cards

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

Woot! Ch.3!! I wanted to wait a few days to post this chapter, but I couldn't help it so I went on with it. Hope you like it! The full plot will be in this chapter.

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.3 The Deck of Cards

Once he was next to her, he whispered

"Your body."

Rukia's eyes widened. "My, my body?" She stuttered out, not really sure of what they meant. The man scooted away from her face and looked at the man next to him.

"Why don't you tell her brother." He said. The other man nodded. "Right, this is sort of hard to explain, so bare with me."

Rukia could now move both of her hands. "Well Rukia, to begin, we have been watching you since you were a small child, a baby even." She didn't want to listen to what they had to say, she just wanted to get out of there.

"As you grew older, my brother and I here took a fascination to you. I mean, think about it. You grew up in Rukongai and then you were accepted into the Soul Society academy. Without even graduating you were placed into a division and adopted into the Kuchiki family. You went through the traumatizing experience of killing your own vice captain." Rukia winced at that comment but the man continued.

"You met the boy Kurosaki Ichigo and gave him your powers so he could save his family. You were taken to Soul Society where you were to be executed but were saved by Ichigo. You fought along side with Ichigo against Aizen and then became the vice captain of thirteenth division. And last but not least, you married Kurosaki Ichigo five years after he became a captain."

Rukia was terrified. How did they know so much about her? "What point are you getting at?" She muttered angrily. "Why don't you take it from here brother." The first man said.

"Alright, sure." He looked at Rukia and began to speak. "Well, fascination grew into obsession, until we decided you could no longer be ignored." Rukia's eyes widened at this.

"What do you want with me then?" She asked shakily feeling the movement of her toes. The two no longer had smirks on their faces, but serious looks. "We hate to do this to you Rukia, to hurt you, but we can't get satisfied unless you do as we say."

Rukia looked at them threateningly. "Why would I ever listen to what you want me to do?" She asked viciously. The smirk once again returned to their faces.

"If you don't listen to what we want you to do, then there will be great consequences." Fear illuminated from her body, and she could sense it. Something in her gut told her to get out of there and fast, but what could she do?

"What do you mean by consequences?" She asked bravely. The second man took a card from the card deck in his hands and placed it in front of Rukia.

"Tell me who that is on the card." He asked. Rukia's eyes widened. "Ichigo" She whispered. In the picture, Ichigo looked to be running. "This is Ichigo currently in the human world looking for the so called attacker."

"I'm not stupid you know, you could have just drawn this or something." Rukia snapped back. The two men smiled and pulled out a strange looking ball.

"With this glass ball we can see what ever we want." The first man said, he placed his grimy hands along the smoothness of the sphere and closed his eyes.

A blurry video type of thing glowed from the sphere, showing Ichigo, Hitsugaya, and her captain all running. "You see?" The man said. Rukia looked away. The second man pulled the card away and placed it in his deck.

"So you think we are lying?" The man asked next to the glass ball. He smirked and placed his hands on the ball again, closing his eyes.

An image came up of Ichigo and Rukia lying asleep on their futon. The only means of coverage was their blanket. Rukia scanned the ball thoroughly and when she realized the display before her, she once again looked away, embarrassed. "Now please, tell me that this didn't happen."

The second man with the cards spoke. "You see Rukia, we can look into the past and present, but not the future. That is how we know so much about you Rukia. We can see you through this ball and know what's going on. And as for the attacks in the human world, let's just say we had something to do with that."

Rukia decided to keep her mouth shut and let them continue to talk. "With these cards in my hand, I can find any person I want to in the world." He pulled up a card with a picture of Rukia, sitting with her eyes wide in shock against the wall. "See? This is you right now."

He pulled up another card of her brother, sitting in his office sipping on tea. "This is your brother in his studies." He mixed the cards around and pulled up a card of a man Rukia didn't recognize.

"This is a man from the human world sleeping." The man said. The other man with the glass ball closed his eyes again. Before them was a picture of the man on the card and his wife sleeping on the ball.

"Let's say I was to accidentally rip the card to shreds." The man said, tearing the thin paper from limb to limb. Rukia's eyes widened in horror as the man on the crystal ball started screaming in agony and pain.

The wife woke up and tried to stop him from shaking. "What's wrong?" She cried. A few seconds later, the man stopped moving. The woman pressed her thumb to his neck and started crying.

She picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Yes emergency, I think my husband is dead!" She cried. Rukia couldn't believe the horror she had just witnessed.

"Did you?" She asked. "Yes, I just killed the man by ripping this card up. You see, these cards work as lifelines to anyone we wish to show up onto the cards." Instead of the man speaking, Rukia finished for him.

"So you killed innocent people in the human world to make it look like some sort of attack or enemy hoping that Ichigo would for some reason be called to investigate." Rukia choked out. Both of the men smiled viciously.

"Precisely Rukia, with just a pinch of extra reiatsu around the dead bodies, it would seem like someone other than a human attacked them. Besides, how else would we be able to speak with you with your husband snooping around?" Rukia was way beyond furious at this point.

"Now, as we both stated earlier, if you don't do as we say there were will be consequences." The man pulled out a card with Ichigo again. Rukia wanted to pull the card out of his hand, but her arms still wouldn't move.

"If you don't obey us, then I could kill your husband right now by merely ripping the card up." Rukia didn't know what to say. She could never allow something like that to happen to Ichigo.

"What do you want from me exactly?" She whispered in a low voice. The first man walked back over to her. "We already told you my dear, your body."

Rukia now understood what they wanted. They didn't want some strange object or anything that Rukia had hidden somewhere, they wanted _**her**_.

"So, if you kill me then you'll leave Ichigo alone?" She asked. Rukia couldn't believe what she was saying. This caused them to laugh once again.

"Rukia, I was beginning to think you were a pretty bright young girl, but it seems you aren't as smart as you appear. Didn't we say earlier that we were only going to hurt you?"

She waited for them to continue. "We are simply obsessed with you. From watching you every night and seeing the delight play across his face when you are with your husband. We simply want to feel what your husband feels each time."

"Each time?" Rukia thought. She immediately felt entirely sick to her stomach. She knew exactly what they wanted. They _lusted _for her, for Rukia, and if she didn't let them do as they pleased, they could possibly kill her husband and anyone else she cared for.

Before she knew it, the man that had been holding the ball picked her up and lifted her onto the bed. She screamed as loudly as she could, trying to somehow fight her way from the two disgusting men.

Once she was down on the bed, she continued to scream. Her legs and hands were now wobbling now The man saw this and closed his eyes and pressed a hand next to her heart. "Bind her." He chanted. A sort of electric shock passed through her body, paralyzing her once again.

But she still had her voice and continued to yell. "Just let me go! Why do you want me?" She screamed. They only ignored her. The man with the cards sat next to her and placed the card with Ichigo on it in front of her face.

The second man grabbed the glass ball and showed an image of Ichigo now sitting on a building resting. She could hear him talking to Hitsugaya. Rukia only stared at Ichigo, wanting him to come to her.

"If you don't do as we say, we'll kill him." The man sitting on the bed said. She looked at him angrily. "So you want to test us?" He ripped a small piece of the corner off the card. There was immediately a hissing sound coming from Ichigo in the glass ball.

Rukia averted her eyes to Ichigo to see him grabbing his shoulder in pain. Tears leaked out of her eyes. "What's wrong Ichigo?" Ukitake asked. "I'm not sure, my shoulder all of the sudden started to hurt."

"Why don't we rip it a little more?" The man asked. "NO!" Rukia screamed. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "Please, just please don't hurt him." She cried.

Rukia hated herself at the moment, but she wasn't going to let Ichigo get hurt from something that was happening to her.

"Good girl Rukia." He hissed and put the deck of cards down. The other man set the glass ball down and walked to the other side of the bed. Their eyes roamed all over Rukia's body.

They placed tape over her mouth and she screamed as loudly as she could. "Just do as we say and this will all be over with soon." Rukia closed her eyes and tried to think of Ichigo as the men began to undo her clothing.

Rukia felt so weak. How did she get herself into this situation? She didn't want to risk Ichigo getting hurt over her, so she had no choice but to let them do as they pleased. Though she really didn't do anything. She just had to lay there and feel the pains and touches.

The smirks and pinches. Their sickening moans of desire. Rukia could do nothing. A few hours later, they undid the spell holding her body down and blind folded her once again. One of the men picked up Rukia and dashed out of the building.

They stopped just a block away from her home, untied the bandana, and handed her a note. "This will give you further instruction Rukia and remember, we'll be watching you to make sure you don't say anything to anyone. If you do, your husband will die."

She just stared blankly as the man vanished, keeping the note in her hand. Since her body was no longer paralyzed, she could feel every pain.

Rukia slowly walked home, not being able to move too much due to her stiff legs. There were bruises all over her body except for her neck and face. She had to act calm when she came home, she couldn't let anyone suspect anything.

Otherwise, her husband would die. As she finally reached the mansion and stumbled to her room, she realized that it was midnight. She quickly ripped her clothes off and changed, feeling disgusting all over.

Rukia fell to her futon and finally let her tears fall. She sobbed for hours and hours, crying out Ichigo's name. But he wouldn't come; he was trying to find an enemy that didn't exist out there.

She couldn't think. She could only cry and curl up into a tiny ball. Rukia felt so helpless but there was nothing she would be able to do. How would she face Ichigo when he came back?

It was as if she betrayed him or cheated on him in a way, but she had to go through the pain to keep him alive. Rukia couldn't have stopped the men anyways for her body had been paralyzed.

What sickened her more was the fact that the men were probably watching her right now, watching as she cried hopelessly. They were probably laughing and feeling joy, for they got what they wanted.

Rukia hated knowing the fact that they got the satisfaction. They had won. But there was absolutely nothing she would be able to do. Rukia soon fell asleep from the exhaustion on her body, tears still cascading down her cheeks. She woke up much later than usual the next morning, hoping that the previous events had just been a horrible nightmare.

She sat up and immediately saw the white parchment of paper sitting by her bed that the two men had given her. She was to read it and follow the instructions. Rukia slowly opened up the paper and read the contents.

_**Dear Rukia,**_

_**We are so glad that you made the right choice to give into what we wanted. This is how everything will work. We will continue to make sure that Ichigo leaves on missions to the human world, and when he is gone, you will meet us every night at 10 o'clock or until you finish your work at the place where we released you. Remember, we will be watching you. If you do not show up, then you know what will happen.**_

_**Love, **_

_**You know who. **_

Rukia crumbled the letter and through it across the floor. She wanted to cry again but there were no tears left to come out. Rukia had a lot of work to do and she was already late.

"How can I get through the day? How can I stop this?" Rukia thought to herself as she got dressed. Realizing _they_ were probably watching her, she covered herself up the entire time.

She took a deep breath and stepped outside of her room. Rukia had to hide any evidence of what was going on. She had to act completely normal. She couldn't let anyone suspect a thing.

So how would she be able to hide this from her husband when he came home? Ichigo always knew when something was bothering her, and she would really be tempted to tell him, but if she did, Ichigo could very well die. Even if the two brothers were bluffing the whole time, which she saw as quite impossible, she didn't even want to risk or think of the idea of Ichigo being killed because of her.

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**Authors note:** I almost cried when I was writing this chapter (because it was raining outside and so I felt all gloomy). I really hope that nothing sounded corny or anything for this was supposed to be very serious. Rape is a very serious thing and I am by no means trying to make it sound like something silly. And I know I didn't put too much detail into the raping part, but I really don't think the details are necessary. Rukia can't tell anyone about what's going on! It's pretty sad that those two men went to such links just to get Rukia. But she loves Ichigo too much and would never cause pain to him. So please, I know this story is pretty dark and filled with sorrow, but of course Ichigo will find out eventually, and trust me, he's going to be FURIOUS when he does. So please keep reading and know that all of this happening to Rukia is part of my sick and twisted plot!! And please, **REVIEW!**

In the next chapter you will see how Rukia has to deal with the torture as she talks with other people, and it's not very pretty.


	4. Fighting the Pains

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

Ok, it's Ch.4 and Rukia has to deal with friends and comrades. Will she be able to act normal? Or will her odd behavior give it away?

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.4 Fighting the Pains

The walk to her division took twice as long to get to. Rukia dreaded seeing her comrades. She had just been through something traumatizing, so how would she be able to handle other people?

Rukia was a tough woman and could deal with many things. But getting raped? Being molested and touched? She wasn't sure if that was something she could deal with. What made everything even worse was she couldn't say anything about it.

Were those two men only lusting for her? Was that really the only reason they went to such links to get her?

When she reached her division, she took a deep breath and stepped inside. Rukia was very late to the division that day for it was already lunch time. "Kurosaki-san? Are you ok?" One of the younger shinigami Hatsuka asked. Rukia tensed up, was she really that obvious?

"Why do you ask?" Rukia said while forcing a smile out. "Well you usually never come in this late, so I was just wondering if you were sick or something." Rukia felt relieved that the girl was only worried about why she had been so late.

"Yes, I think had a bit of a cold this morning. Sorry to worry you." Rukia replied and walked over to get some food. Strangely enough, Rukia wasn't too hungry.

"Kurosaki-fukutaichou!" A man called from yesterday. The sound of the man yelling made Rukia flinch, bringing back memories of the previous night. She squeezed her eyes closed and looked away from the man. "What is it?" She asked.

"News from Ukitake-taichou." He handed Rukia another note. "Thank you." She replied. The man bowed like the day before and left Rukia to herself. She read through the contents of the letter and froze when the words _"Ichigo had some sort of strange pain in his shoulder" _were written. Tears threatened to spill, but Rukia held them in.

The note read that they would be coming back in a week if they still couldn't find any clues on the enemy. Rukia felt anger boil up inside. She knew who was behind it, and she felt sick to her stomach to know that innocent people were being killed because two men wanted her. They _wanted_ Rukia.

She tossed the paper in the trash and took a seat. There was still a good fifteen minutes left on their lunch break so she decided to take a short nap.

Nightmares raced through her mind of what the men did to her and she could hear someone yelling out her name. "Kurosaki-san! Kurosaki-san!" A young shinigami shouted.

Rukia snapped her eyes opened, realizing where she was. "Are you alright? You were shouting and grunting" The girl asked. Rukia laughed nervously.

"Everything is just fine. Is lunch over?" She asked. All the shinigami nodded their heads. "Ok well let's begin our training."

"Grab a partner and we will begin with sparring." Rukia shouted. Her body still ached but she ignored the pains. Once everyone had a partner, they began their fighting.

"Hatsuka-san, don't let your guard down. Jin, bring your sword out just a little further, there you go." Rukia shouted out. A sharp pain surged down her body and she closed her eyes tightly.

Luckily for her, no one noticed her and continued to train. Just as Rukia stood back up, a girl asked her a question. "So we are going to fight hollows soon?" The girl asked.

Rukia nodded, continuing to watch the others. "Yes, I don't know when but we will as soon as possible." The entire day, Rukia fought the urge to shout in agony. The area between her legs was now beginning to soar with pain.

She was going to pass out and soon. The exhaustion on her body was literally making her weak. "Kurosaki-san, are you alright?" A young shinigami asked. Rukia glanced at the girl and began to fall. Sentaro and Kiyone saw the whole incident, Rukia collapsing onto the ground and the entire shinigami gathering around her.

Rukia sat up. Everyone stared at their vice captain with fear. "I'm fine really." She said smiling. "Why don't you go lay down for a little while?" Sentaro said. Rukia didn't feel like arguing with him. She needed to sleep, but she couldn't let people get any sort of hint.

Sentaro and Kiyone walked next to Rukia to make sure she didn't collapse again. "Kurosaki-taichou, are you going to be ok?" Kiyone asked. Rukia smiled lightly. "I think I'm just a little tired. I had a bit of a cold this morning." They both nodded and left the room so that Rukia could rest.

She fell onto the futon and looked at the ceiling. "If Ichigo finds out that I've fainted during a mere practice then he'll get suspicious." Rukia said to herself. She placed a hand her to stomach as it growled.

"I probably should have eaten something, that's probably why I fainted." But Rukia knew it was more than just not eating. She really didn't know what sort of side effects came with being raped, but she knew that mentally, she was probably unstable.

"Why am I not freaking out? I've heard of girls getting raped and they shut themselves out from the world. If one man looks at them they scream and cry. Why am I not reacting in that sort of way?" She thought to herself.

Perhaps what had happened just hadn't hit her yet. Her mind wouldn't register what had occurred. She thought back to the note they had given her.

_**You will meet us every night at 10 o'clock **_the note had said. Rukia shuttered knowing that nothing was close to being done.

It was one thing to have to go through the experience once, but she had to go through it all over again every night. Rukia could never get used to this sort of thing. How did they expect her to not say anything to anyone? Someone would eventually realize that something was terribly wrong with her and she wouldn't be able to hide the secret.

Ichigo would want to have sex with her and wouldn't he be able to see the bruises? Her heart sank. The thought of another man touching her, even her own husband at that moment caused tears to stream down her cheeks.

Could she let Ichigo touch her in such a way after what had just happened? It would be very odd if Rukia all of the sudden didn't want to due that with him for they were pretty active with that sort of thing. But what would be worse?

What if they started to do that and Rukia froze up and pushed him away? Rukia could never live with herself if she hurt him like that, reject him in a way. More tears poured down her cheeks.

She turned to her side in the case that if someone walked in they wouldn't see her crying. Rukia knew she wouldn't be able to keep it from Ichigo for very long but she didn't want him getting hurt because of her.

Rukia slammed a fist down onto the ground. She didn't even know who these men were? They never said their names or anything, just that they had been watching her grow up.

Now Rukia knew there were sadly people out there that were literally as insane as the two men, but was there maybe a reason behind their wickedness? Why did they want her to suffer so badly? Most enemies that hate a person simply kill that person, but these men simply want her to suffer for their own sick desires.

Rukia wanted to sleep, but she knew if she did that she would only have nightmares. "If I don't sleep then I will faint again." She whispered to herself. Rukia fell asleep for a good hour and finally woke up when she heard voices in the hallway.

There was an instant flashback of when Rukia had first woken up in the room she was being held captive. "She's awake." A voice called. Rukia placed her hands over her ears and closed her eyes.

"Kurosaki-taichou?" A female voice asked. Rukia put her hands down and smiled, glad to see that it was a woman.

"So you think you have a cold?" Kiyone asked. Rukia nodded. "Yah, I had some trouble sleeping last night due to my coughing and so I guess I just used a little bit too much energy today." Kiyone looked at her suspiciously, but then smiled.

"Well look, if would want to you can go home and rest. Sentaro and I can finish the paperwork." Rukia went to argue back but Kiyone put her hands up.

"Hey, we went a while without having a vice captain, so we're pretty much experts." Rukia smiled warmly. A thought of Kaien popped into her head and she chuckled.

"Are you sure?" Rukia asked. Kiyone smiled. "Of course! Don't worry about it!" Rukia smiled, thanked the girl, and walked out of the small room.

As Rukia left the division a few of her subordinates approached. "Kurosaki-san, are you ok?" The girl Hatsuka asked from earlier. "Yah, I just need to rest a little bit more. I couldn't sleep last night due my constant coughing." Rukia hated lying so much and acting so casual about this, but it was the only thing she had.

"Oh ok. Are you sure?" The girl asked again. Rukia stopped and looked at her. "Why are you so curious?" Rukia asked. The girl looked afraid. "I'm sorry and I know it's none of my business, but I saw a pretty nasty bruise on your arm when you fell and I was just wondering if everything was ok." Rukia was truly shocked.

She quickly smiled. "Oh this?" She said pulling up her sleeve to reveal the bruise. "I was on my way home when I slipped on a loose board on the roof. I fell and landed on my arms, that's where the bruise came from." This seemed to convince the smaller girl and she laughed.

"And I thought I was clumsy." The girl exclaimed. Rukia chuckled along with her and finally walked away. She wished with all her might that she had received the bruise from falling, but she knew it wasn't the real truth.

The two men had latched their hands around her arms so they could get a better feel, leaving the bruise on her arm. She brought her arms around her shoulders as wind blew by.

Rukia could now see that hiding this was going to be much much harder than she had ever imagined. The more she talked to people, the more she was reminded of what they did to her.

As she reached her home, she decided to go to the hot springs nearby to let her muscles relax.

"_**If you tell anyone about this, we'll know, and your husband will die."**_ They had said to her. They were watching her every move which meant they would more than likely watch as she entered the hot spring.

On her way to the hot spring, she grabbed two robes and towel and made her way to the hot spring. "They won't be able to see me once I'm in the water. It's too dark."

When she reached the hot spring, she quickly changed into her robe and slipped into the water. After her body was fully inside, she took the wet robe off and set it next to the dry one.

She closed her eyes and let the heated water work its magic on her bruised and knotted skin. Rukia leaned against some rocks so that her back could relax. To block out images of the two men, Rukia thought about Ichigo.

She thought about all the times they were alone together and how wonderful he made her feel. Ichigo loved her with all of his heart, just like how she loved him. Their relationship had been a slow one, but they were together now and they always would be.

Rukia didn't know how she was going to do it, but she was going to stop those two men from what they were doing. Why should she let two selfish men get what they want? Rukia and Ichigo were happy and these two men were ruining it.

She knew it might be hard, but she was smart. Rukia was quite good at figuring and solving problems so maybe if she learned more about these two men, she could put an end to their sick ways.

After thirty minutes of soaking in the hot waters, Rukia slipped her dry robe on in the water and stepped out. By the time she made it home it was only four o'clock in the afternoon.

"Maybe I should go back now that I feel better." Rukia thought. But her eyes were still fighting to stay opened, so she decided she would sleep for several hours.

Another shutter surged through her body. At ten o'clock she had to meet them in the spot where they released her. She barely remembered where it was at due to the fact that she was so dazed. Rukia set an alarm on her phone to wake her up at 9 o'clock and she fell asleep.

The whole time Rukia was tormented with nightmares of the two men. She tossed and turned in her sleep, moaning out Ichigo's name occasionally. One time she even dreamt that Ichigo did save her, but then one of the men got a hold of a card and ripped the one with Ichigo on it, causing Ichigo to die.

"NO!" She screamed, sitting up in her futon. Her alarm on her phone was going off. She looked at the time. "9:45! Why didn't I wake up any sooner?" Rukia cried and stood up. She quickly changed, ignoring the fact that _they_ could be watching her and dashed out of the room.

She tried to remember where the man had released her and began to panic. If she couldn't remember how to get there and not make it on time, then Ichigo would possibly die. Rukia thought really hard and finally a few street names came to her head.

Ignoring the pains in her legs and arms, she ran to the spot, hoping she would make it there on time. As she approached, she saw a shadow of a person in the corner.

Rukia hoped that someone would be outside to see Rukia with the strange man, but there wasn't a single person outside. She walked closer to the man and saw his smirk.

"3, 2, 1. Wow Rukia, I honestly didn't think you would make it." He said, pulling the sleeve of his shirt down as he finished looking at his watch. Rukia winced at hearing his voice.

It was so smooth, almost like it wasn't real, but yet it was deep at the same time. "Come on then." He said, pointing his finger to come closer. Rukia followed him into a smaller room and he tied the bandana over her face.

"This is how it will always be Rukia." He whispered into her ear. After shaking from the deep chills, the man placed his hand on her back. "Bind her." He demanded. The electric shock was again surged through her body and she began to fall.

She waited to hit the ground but was instead caught by two arms. "Well then, let's go." He said chuckling and began to move. Rukia had no idea where he was taking her, but she dreaded every moment.

After about ten minutes of being blind folded, she sat down onto what felt like a bed and the bandana was taken off of her face.

"We are quite proud of you Rukia. We watched you all day today and you did a wonderful job at lying. I think you will do fine." She only watched the two in horror.

"Oh, and we decided to go ahead and tell you our names. My name is Hiraku, and this is my brother, Ryou." She of course wouldn't be able to tell which was which because of the identical cloak they always wore and as far as their names went, they were probably jus making them up.

Hiraku, the one that had "properly" introduced the two walked over and leaned down close to Rukia. "Mmm, you do smell good." He whispered seductively.

She closed her eyes as he caressed her cheek with his nose. "I told you Ryou that she would smell fresh. She did go to the hot springs today." Hiraku said, smiling. Though Rukia could never call that a smile. Monsters didn't smile after all.

"Well then, let's get to business shall we?" Ryou said, walking to her other side. They once again covered her mouth with tape. "We really hate placing tape over your mouth for we do wish to kiss those luscious lips but for now we will just have to wait."

For some reason knowing that their lips would possibly touch hers made her more afraid than ever before. With their last comment said, they devoured her, not letting her rest for a second.

She closed her eyes and tried to not think about what they were doing, but this time it was much harder to do, and it would only continue to get more difficult. "Ichigo" She whispered, keeping her eyes up and away from the two monsters before her.

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**Authors note:** All I can say is poor Rukia. She doesn't deserve to go through those pains (no one does by the way) and yet she has to. Rukia doesn't for one second want to risk something happening to Ichigo. And now she has to lie to people around her and it's only going to get worse as the situation sinks into her brain only more and more. Sooner or later she might snap and what about Ichigo? How will she be able to handle him without telling him? Please do me a favor and **REVIEW!** Your opinions mean the WORLD to me really. This is a serious fic and I want to know how you all feel about it so don't be afraid to say what's on your mind!


	5. Putting Up the Mask

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

Alright everyone, Ch.5, and Rukia is only going to get worse as the days continue to pass. Will she be able to hide it? Or will she not be able to stand the pressure any longer.

P.S- I was actually debating on putting this chapter up because it's sort of like the last one, so I hope it's not boring!!

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.5 Putting Up the Mask

Her eyes somehow fluttered open the next morning. Rukia didn't even remember walking back to her home and crawling into bed. She just laid there dazed. Her body ached all over and if it was possible she had even more bruises on her body than from the previous day.

She glanced at the time to see it was only 9:30 in the morning. Grateful that she could make it to her division at a decent hour, she rose to her feet and changed.

For a second she imagined the two men who called themselves Hiraku and Ryou to watching her and smirking, but she just didn't care. They had only done this to her twice now, but she already felt like she had been their slave for eternity.

Walking out of the mansion and making her way to the division, she found herself really struggling. Every five seconds a small flash would pass through her mind. Just seeing a man literally made her look away.

She was quickly greeted by Sentaro and Kiyone who were of course worried about her. Rukia coughed and waved at them. "Oh no, I feel much better." She said softly. Rukia had a plan, it wasn't amazing or anything, but it would work for now.

Everyone saw her faint yesterday and thought that she was sick. Colds could last for a good week or so, making it so that if Rukia looked weak or sad, she could blame it on the cold.

If Ichigo were to come back by the end of the week or weekend, then she could tell him she didn't want him to get sick. Therefore, he would have to keep some fair distance from her and not see the bruises.

But she knew she couldn't keep the sickness deal going forever, so she would have to think of something else. Maybe by then she could figure out a way to end everything, but right now she needed to work on being able to hide her emotions.

"Well there isn't too much to do today. I think all you need to do is train the younger ones and then you are free to go." Rukia smiled brightly. "You mean no paper work?" She asked.

Kiyone smiled. "Nope! None at all!" The woman exclaimed. For a brief moment, Rukia forgot about all her worries and let the wonderful moment pass.

But just as the moment came, it ended. "Kurosaki-fukutaichou!" A man yelled. More images of the previous night flashed across her mind and she winced. Kiyone looked at her worriedly but stepped aside as the messenger approached Rukia.

"A message from the captain." The man said. Rukia thanked him and he left. Rukia read the contents of the paper.

_Rukia, _

_When the attacks on the humans were first done, we could sense strong reiatsu around them, which is why we left to investigate, but now the reiatsu is gone and we can't pick up any trace on it. If this continues then we will probably be back by Friday. I forgot to mention it but there's a load of paper work in my office that I forgot to give you. Make sure to keep training the new shinigami and give them the "division lecture". _

_Sincerely,_

_Ukitake_

She rolled her eyes at the part with the paper work and threw the note in the trash. "Of course, there is always paper work somewhere. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up." She whined.

There was soon a spasm of pain in her legs and she almost fell over. She quickly grabbed onto a nearby bench and sat down, taking a deep breath. Out of no where depression consumed her mind.

"Why is this happening to me? Why won't they just go away? I don't deserve to be loved." She snapped out of her gaze and thought through the words that flowed through her mind.

She was losing it and fast. "I'm not feeling so well, I'll be back in a moment." She called out to Kiyone.

Rukia rushed to her office and closed the door. She pulled herself under her desk and let out the tears that were threatening to spill just moments ago. Scooting her knees up to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her legs and let her head rest on her knees. The sobs that escaped her mouth were silent, and she was grateful for that.

How could she deal with this? Everything was starting to sink in and she could feel it.

Rukia knew she was feeling traumatized. Everything that happened to her kept replaying itself over and over in her mind. "I can't even stop it." She whispered to herself.

All Rukia wanted right now was to talk to somebody, to tell them how she felt, but she couldn't. "I won't let Ichigo die."

She fought with herself daily, saying that maybe if she told someone nothing would happen to Ichigo and that the two brothers were bluffing.

But she had a horrible feeling that this was not the typical scenario. The abilities the two brothers had were strange, almost voodoo like. By just looking and ripping up a card with a person on it, they could end that person's life. She had witnessed them doing so.

They even inflicted an injury onto Ichigo's shoulder by simply making a small gash on the corner of the card.

Rukia felt so lost and confused. Was she doing the right thing? Should she allow them to continue to take advantage of her? What other choice did she have? This had only happened to her twice and she could already feel herself falling apart.

She finally rose from under the desk as the tears stopped falling. Glancing in a mirror to make sure her eyes weren't still puffy, she walked outside.

"Sorry about that, I needed to take some medicine." She said lying. Kiyone nodded. "Sure, no problem, well if you are ready they need to start training now."

Rukia took a deep breath, and released it. "Alright everyone, let's get started." Rukia said, trying to fight the images that wouldn't leave her alone.

For the next two hours, the young shinigami trained with one another, taking a lunch break in between.

After lunch, Rukia decided to give them the big lecture. "Ok everyone, I'm going to talk and you're going to listen." Rukia shouted out.

All of the shinigami sat down and waited for Rukia to speak. "For some reason, there is a tradition where the vice captain gives this speech instead of the captain, so I really hope you take in everything I'm about to say."

She paused and looked around at everyone. "This is what is called the division lecture. You have all been here for several months now, and let me tell you, this division is very different from the others." Some of the shinigami looked at one another and waited for her to continue.

"Out of all the other divisions, we are the most carefree and loving. This division holds a very special bond to one another. We're all brothers and sisters in a way. The captain told me that he feels the best way for us to be a good division is by being caring to one another, and I have seen for myself that this truly works. Now it can be hard sometimes because we go on missions and are separated from the ones we care for." Rukia stopped again, biting back her lip from letting the tears spill.

If she cried in front of everyone, than they would definitely know something was wrong. "But I've seen the other divisions, and not all, but a few lack something that is very important in a division, respect for others. In order to have a great division, not only should you respect those older than you, but also those that are younger and inexperienced. So I challenge you all, old and young, to get to know each other, to find common grounds with a person that you never really liked to begin with. If you can do that, then you will be fulfilling one of the captain's greatest desires."

When the word desire flew out of Rukia's mouth, she froze. She quickly closed her eyes and tried to ignore the sounds and the pleasures from Hiraku and Ryou. Getting control of herself, she finished.

"I know it probably seems silly that we are telling this to you after several months of being here, but I wanted you to try to learn on your own and realize that respect and friendship is very important in this division. As you grow older and move onto to other divisions, I want you to remember these words and try to pass on these words to those who are unfamiliar with it. That is all." Rukia said smiling at the younger ones.

They all clapped for her and she let them all leave early. "Well said Kurosaki-fukutaichou!" Sentaro exclaimed to her. Rukia smiled, not making eye contact with the man.

"Well there's more paper work to do so I better get started." Kiyone looked worried about her again. "Do you still feel sick?" She asked.

"Yah, it turns out I have a cold and it probably won't go away for the next week. But don't worry, I'll be fine." If only Rukia really had a mere cold. Kiyone grinned happily.

"I do hope you feel better Kurosaki-fukutaichou." Rukia grinned back. "I hope so too."

Luckily, the stack of paperwork hadn't been too large and Rukia finished it within 45 minutes. Feeling relieved that her work was done; Rukia arrived home at 6 in the evening.

She knew that she should probably take a nap, but the thought of having another nightmare made her rethink her decision.

So instead she decided to relax on her futon and allowed herself to think of Ichigo. When she thought of him, she could push the images out of her mind.

Those horrible images of pain and disgust. The way their hands caressed her skin, the lust she could sense illuminating from their covered eyes.

The grunts they made as they bound themselves to her. When Rukia realized she wasn't thinking about Ichigo and the instead two monsters, she cried again.

Never in her entire life had she cried so much. Rukia had felt true pain before. Guilt and helplessness, pains of swords hitting her body, but never in her entire life had she felt such agony.

They were practically controlling everything she did and said. She had to lie to people because of them, act fake in front of people in front of them.

Rukia _hated _them. Every time she heard their voices, she felt her heart burn with pain. Her soul felt like fire.

What was just recently beginning to frighten her was Ichigo. Sometimes when she thought about him, his appearance would change and he would be wearing a cloak like the other two. He would laugh at her hysterically and stare at her body, lusting for her.

If Rukia could not depend on the one person she truly trusted, then how was she going to get through this? Ichigo was her one comforter, her lover, her everything, and now he was getting pulled into her illusions.

Rukia was going insane. That day at the division had been terribly difficult on her. Giving that speech and seeing all of those people stare at her almost made her snap.

Sooner or later, Rukia fell asleep and woke up later to go see them. Hachiru and Ryou.

It was only going to be the third time. It was _only_ the third time, like getting raped was supposed to be common or something.

And sadly, she made her way to the spot where rather Hachiru or Ryou waited for her. She didn't say a word as she was carried to the room blind folded so she wouldn't figure out how to get there.

She stayed emotionless on the bed and only stared at the ceiling, trying to block out the motions of the two pigs.

After they finished their business and said their snide comments, Rukia went home. The aching pains were now unbearable to deal with but she managed to crawl into her room and sleep.

Rukia was too tired to fight with the nightmares that played across her mind. "Just a few more days and Ichigo will be home." Rukia whispered to herself.

Even when she had nightmares about Ichigo, she still wanted him by her side. He was the only person in the world that could make her one. She really was starting to underestimate her strength. Would she be able to keep this from Ichigo? The question continued to haunt her mind.

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**A/N:** I know this was a pretty slow and depressing chapter (and not too long) but I really wanted to have another chapter with Rukia letting the pain sink in. In all honestly, Rukia is actually doing well considering what is happening to her. When most women get raped, they change drastically. Their appearance, their attitude, everything. It's often hard for them to talk to others. But Rukia knows that if she doesn't toughen it out, that Ichigo could get hurt, and as I have said for the millionth time (and as you all know) she loves him and would do anything for him. It's really hard to write how Rukia is feeling, so I hope that everything is flowing well for you guys. Please **REVIEW**!! I can't stress that enough! I am dying for your opinion!

And the next chapter will be longer and a certain orange haired guy will finally come home! It's going to be from his POV!


	6. If He Only Knew

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

I told a few people I would update on Thursday but I decided to go ahead and do it now! Ichigo comes home and already suspects something is wrong, but can Rukia fool him? Can she continue to protect him?

Read and find out.

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.6 If He Only Knew

For the first time in the past few days, Ichigo could feel the stress inside his body slipping away. "I'm home." He whispered, stepping into his division.

Hitsugaya, Ukitake and him couldn't find a clue to what had caused the deaths of those humans. They knew it had to be something other than a human because the reiatsu that lurked around the bodies was strange and different.

"Look, if something else happens then we'll go investigate again." Ukitake had said to him. Ichigo just shrugged his shoulders. Why did they need him to look? There were 12 other captains, surely they could help out.

He sighed, knowing that complaining about it wouldn't do any good. "After I finish everything here I can finally see Rukia." He said to himself. Ichigo had seen the sadness in her eyes when he had left and Ichigo hated it.

He hated when Rukia was upset about anything. Even when she would get something as small as a paper cut he would be filled with a bit of alarm. Rukia always joked around with him about how overprotective he could be, but it was true.

And he didn't care. Protecting others was in his blood, especially those he cares for the most and Rukia knew that. His thoughts came to an abrupt stop when someone was shouting his name.

"Kurosaki-taichou!" A pest-like voiced yelled. Ichigo closed his eyes in irritation and finally called back, not being able to handle the obnoxious boy.

"I'm here Haru." Ichigo said flatly keeping his eyes closed the whole time. Just looking at the kid could make Ichigo want to punch him.

"Glad to see that you are back sir!" The boy shouted. Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck a bit annoyed that Haru was still shouting.

"You don't have to yell anymore." Ichigo muttered. Haru immediately bowed. "I'm so sorry sir! I really didn't mean to!"

Ichigo's scowl was now blazing on his face, but he didn't care. "Did you just come to greet me or do you have some news about something?"

"Oh yes right! Um, I have a message from Yamamoto, here you go!" Hadn't Ichigo just explained that shouting was no longer needed? Rolling his eyes Ichigo took the note out of Haru's hands.

"Thanks, how was the division while I was gone?" Ichigo asked, not really caring too much, but of course Haru went into a long speech.

"Well sir, we got a lot done. First I helped train a few people and did some paper work. Yuri and Senmo helped clean up a hollow. I had to attend a meeting for the vice captains. One of the oldest trees in our division was knocked down by a hollow that attacked. Oh, and someone through up their lunch after training the other day and I had to clean…"

Ichigo clenched his hands into fists. "Do you KNOW how to communicate? I just asked HOW the division was, not WHAT they did!" Ichigo yelled. Haru looked fearful for his life.

"Oh sorry sir, well, um, it was good." Ichigo released the deep breath he had been holding in. "Alright, that's all I needed to know." With that said, Haru bowed and quickly walked away, fearing his captain.

"Man that kid can be so annoying sometimes." Ichigo mumbled while rubbing his head. He knew that even though Haru drove him nuts that he was still a very useful vice captain.

Haru had potential to reach the top and Ichigo saw that when he had tested into third division. He still had a few glitches but they were going away as time passed on.

"Oh Kurosaki-taichou! I forgot to tell you that there's some paperwork!" Haru yelled from across the building. Ichigo only waved to confirm to Haru as he walked into his office.

When Ichigo had first taken the job as captain, he felt really honored and knew he would commit to the job, but the second he walked into his new office and saw the stack of papers, Ichigo really wanted to quit.

Doing jobs like filling out paperwork was not something Ichigo enjoyed or ever would. He remembered how Rukia had acted. Ichigo knew the whole time that she was hiding something. When they had walked into his office and she had seen his horrified face, she immediately started laughing.

"Rukia." He whispered. If Ichigo wanted to see his wife soon then he needed to finish the work of hell.

The walk back to his estate was a long one. He wanted to get home quickly but his body was tired from staring at so many papers. His hand even hurt from writing and signing his name so much. To his unluckiness, the work took much longer to do and it was 8 o'clock at night.

During one of his breaks he made his way to Rukia's division to at least get to greet her for a little while, but her captain explained that Rukia was sick.

"She's sick?" Ichigo asked, the concern shining all over his face.

"Yes, it seems she's been sick for several days and I allowed her to leave early." Ukitake explained. Ichigo really wanted to go home and check on her, but he knew he would never have the time.

When he finally took the steps into his house, he could already sense that something was different. He looked around at all the paintings and decorations, trying to see what was bugging him.

"Nope, there's nothing different, so what's bothering me?" He thought. "Ichigo." A voice called from above him.

He looked up the stairs to see Rukia standing in the middle staring straight at him. He understood what was bothering him.

It was the mood of his home. Something seemed darker about it and Rukia somehow fit along with it. He decided to smile at her and wait for her reaction.

But she didn't run to him like she usually did. She just stood there on steps, glancing down at him.

When he went to speak she started to move down the stairs slowly, avoiding eye contact with him. He only watched as she approached him. Instead of hugging him, she stood an annoying foot away.

His head was starting to spin. Ichigo could read her like a book, and even these small differences in her were frightening him. "Rukia, what's wrong?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.

She coughed. "I'm sick." She stuttered out. "It's a cold. Sorry I don't seem so happy to see you. I really am glad to see you are home, but I just feel awful." Ichigo still didn't understand why she wasn't looking at him.

But then, her eyes slowly but surely averted to his. There was a deep dullness in her eyes. "Does the light hurt?" He asked. She looked confused at first but she grinned lightly.

"Yes, this cold gives me weird headaches and the light only makes it worse." Well that explained why she wasn't looking at him. Ichigo was several feet taller than her so looking up would make her see the bright light.

He scooted to her and slowly, not wanting to startle her for some reason. She seemed rather weak right now.

Rukia allowed him to close the small space in between them. She wrapped her arms around his waist and crushed her head to his chest. He pulled her tightly against him and placed one hand on her back while the other rested on her head.

She wanted to cry and tell him everything, but she had to lie. Ichigo seemed to believe her words so she just followed what he said.

"I missed yah." He whispered. Rukia only tightened her hold on his back, desperately fighting to hold the tears back.

They both stood like that for a long time. This particular week away from each other had pulled at them, both of course having different reasons of why they missed one another.

"Hey um, am I interrupting something?" A familiar voice asked. Ichigo and Rukia pulled away from each other to see Renji standing there. "What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked trying to aggravate his strange friend.

Renji chuckled. "Just stopped by to see you two for a minute. I heard you just got back today." He said. Ichigo sighed. "The investigation was stupid. We didn't find anything to lead us to whatever killed those humans. But if another attack happens then we have to leave immediately."

Rukia tried to block out what he said. She knew what was happening, but couldn't say a word. "Ichigo, Renji, I think I'm going to head off to bed. If I want to go to the division tomorrow than I better get to sleep early." She mumbled.

Renji looked surprised and Ichigo just looked a little disappointed. "Alright." Ichigo said softly. As she headed up the stairs she heard Renji asking about why Rukia wanted to go to sleep so early.

She quickly remembered that she could actually rest that night. That she wouldn't have to go to them. Even though the images rushed through her mind, she didn't mind as much.

"Ichigo is home." She whispered as she curled up into her blanket. Rukia fell asleep and after what seemed like only several minutes, she heard a voice calling her name.

"Rukia?" Ichigo asked.

She turned to face him and smiled. "What did Renji really want?" She asked groggily. Ichigo smirked. "He was missing a file and asked if I had it for some reason. He wanted to talk to you about something too."

Rukia looked at him curiously. "Did he say what?" Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "No, he said he would come by and see you at your division tomorrow."

He yawned loudly and stretched his arms out. "Man, this mission has wiped me out for some reason, or maybe it's from the paperwork I did today." Rukia smiled faintly.

She scooted over to let him lay down and tried her best to smile warmly at him.

Ichigo took his top off and nuzzled close to her. After working his arm around Rukia she turned to face him. "I shouldn't be so close to you Ichigo. I could get you sick." She whispered with her eyes closed.

"I think sleeping next to you won't do anything." She smiled. Not the fake one she put on display for her friends and subordinates, but a real and genuine one.

"What time is it anyways?" She asked. "It's about 10:30. I would have come to talk to you sooner but Renji ended up staying much longer than I thought."

This whole time she had been worried about Ichigo and what her reaction would be to seeing him. Just by glancing at other men she tensed up, so when she thought of Ichigo and how he would of course want to hug her and touch her, she was afraid she would push him away.

But Rukia felt safer than never before in his arms and she was so grateful for that. Ichigo was her everything. He placed a hand and ran it through her hair. "You asleep?" He asked.

"No." She whispered tiredly. There was once again silence, but Rukia didn't mind it. She didn't really feel like talking much anyways. "I know you are sick or whatever, but can I get something from you?"

That question brought chills to her back. Get something? She took a deep breath and finally spoke. "What is that?" She asked. Ichigo slid his hand from her head to her chin.

"This" He whispered. Using his hand, he lifted her chin up just enough to reach his face. Ichigo kissed Rukia, not deeply or intensely, but just lightly.

When he broke away from her, Rukia felt dazed. "Ichigo" She whispered with her eyes still closed from their brief moment. Ichigo smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

"You really are a pain." He whispered. Ichigo expected Rukia to jab him or kick him, but he received no blows. Rukia had already rested her head back onto his chest and was breathing heavily. She was already asleep.

"You really are tired huh?" He whispered again, letting his hands rest gently on her. And what felt like seconds later, Ichigo fell asleep along with her.

Ichigo woke up the next morning to see Rukia already awake and dressed. "How do you feel?" He asked sleepily. She was looking for something around her room.

"Better." She replied quickly. Ichigo watched as she scrambled around their large room. Rukia felt his eyes on her and turned her head away even more. "What are you looking for?"

She sighed. "I need to give my captain something but I can't find it." She said irritated. Ichigo pulled himself out of bed and tried to help her.

"Found it." She said, scooping something and placing it in her pocket. Ichigo rolled his eyes, annoyed that he had gotten out of bed.

"You sure you're ok to go to work? I mean, I don't think I've ever seen you sick." Ichigo said worried. Rukia chuckled.

"I know, it is sort of bizarre for me to get sick, but I'll be fine, it's just a cold. I can't miss too much work." The whole time Rukia spoke she fumbled with her fingers and avoided looking at Ichigo.

He didn't seem to notice and pulled his shirt on. "Well, I guess I better get going. I'm sure Haru is already freaking out about what to do." Ichigo grumbled. Rukia faked a smile and decided she would leave too.

They walked out together and went their separate ways. Ichigo couldn't help but still wonder about Rukia's odd sickness. Never in his entire life of knowing Rukia had she gotten sick. Not even when she was in the human world with him.

The day went by slowly and Ichigo kept pondering over his wife. "Rukia really didn't seem excited to see me." He felt a little sad that Rukia hadn't grinned at him or kicked him or anything. She had seemed almost lifeless.

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. He thought her little "I'm sick" story sounded a bit corny, but Ukitake had seemed convinced that she was sick and he knew her pretty well.

Ukitake could be a kind person but he wouldn't just let someone as important as Rukia take the day off because she was feeling a little under the weather. "But Rukia is stubborn. She wouldn't just leave because of feeling sick."

Was she not telling Ichigo something? Should he worry about it? "Rukia would tell me if something was bothering her right?" He thought.

As Ichigo made his way home, he could sense someone up ahead lingering around for him. He looked ahead and saw that Rangiku Matsumoto stood against a wall with her arms folded.

"Ichigo." She called out in a forceful tone. Her face was dead serious. "I need to talk to you about something."

Ichigo, now standing much closer to her only nodded. "What is it about?" He asked. She stayed in the same position and continued to glare at him.

"Rukia." Ichigo didn't understand. "Why do you need to talk to me about Rukia?"

She closed her eyes and pushed herself off the wall. "Follow me Ichigo, this is very serious."

Ichigo was now on full alert. Was something wrong with Rukia? Was she alright? They walked into a small room and she closed the door.

Beside Matsumoto was Hitsugaya, who had the same serious expression as Matsumoto. "Ichigo," She began. He listened contently and there was a long dramatic pause.

Matsumoto seemed to be struggling with the words. "What?" Ichigo asked, letting the irritation sink into his voice.

She looked at her captain who nodded for her to continue and looked back at him. "I hate to ask you this Ichigo, but I have no choice." There was once again a pause and Matsumoto found her voice.

"Have-have you been hitting Rukia?"

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**A/N:** I know this is still really depressing but at least Ichigo is back and Rukia got to see him right? The next few chapters are going to be more of Ichigo's POV of things. And I know you are probably wondering how Matsumoto suspects Ichigo of abusing Rukia, and you are free to give guesses. The next chapter Ichigo is going to start realizing what is really going on with Rukia, though he won't be very close to knowing the truth.

Oh and someone asked a few chapters back if I was guy or girl and well, seeing as I am QUEEN of juiceboxes, then yes, I am a girl. Thanks for the question though!

Please **REVIEW!!** I can't stress that enough!! I really want your advice and opinions so please feel free to tell me what you're thinking!! I would greatly appreciate it…


	7. Unbelievable

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

Matsumoto knows something is wrong but how and why? Read and find out.

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.7 Unbelievable

"Have-have you been hitting Rukia?" Matsumoto asked shakily. She didn't really know if the words had slipped out of her mouth or not, for she was shocked that she would ever need to ask Kurosaki Ichigo such a question.

His eyes were wide and full of surprise. "Wha-what did you just say?" He nearly whispered.

Matsumoto looked away, not being able to bear the pain. "Ichigo, just say yes or no." Hitsugaya muttered, his height now bearing over Ichigo's.

Ichigo finally snapped out of his gaze and answered. "Of course not! What the hell are you talking about anyways?"

Another long silence followed, but Ichigo didn't say anything. He only waited, not sure if he wanted to know why they would suspect him of something so horrible.

"Ichigo, well," Matsumoto began. "We had a vice captain meeting this morning, and Hinamori tapped on Rukia's arm when she winced." Hitsguya pressed his hands tighter into his folded arms and kept his eyes downward as Matsumoto continued slowly.

"Hinamori saw Rukia's pained expression and realized something was wrong and pulled up Rukia's sleeve to see a horrible bruise crawling up her arm. She said that Rukia wouldn't look Hinamori in the eye and kept her hand over the part of her arm where Hinamori had just barely tapped it."

Ichigo still didn't understand what she was getting at. "Rukia paused for a long time and told her she fell and Hinamori asked her a question about you and if you had seen the bruise and Rukia immediately started to cry." Ichigo was now very concerned.

"Hinamori pulled Rukia out of the room to ask her more about it but she just kept repeating that she fell and that you had nothing to with it. So look, we don't want to point any fingers, but we all know that Rukia wouldn't just cry over some thing like that.

"Hinamori also said that the bruise looked like it had been there for a while. I know it's none of my business, but Rukia is a dear friend to me, so please, be honest and say you at least know what really happened to her bruised arm."

Ichigo was at a loss of words for Rukia had never mentioned anything about bruises. "No, I really didn't know…How early this morning?" He finally managed to ask.

"The meeting was at 9 o'clock." Matsumoto replied. Ichigo thought hard. They had left that morning from their house at around 8:50-ish.

"Even if Rukia had gotten hurt or something on the way to the meeting there was no way the bruise would already have formed so badly onto her arm like you say Hinamori saw." Ichigo said.

He started to head out the door. "Where are you going?" Matsumoto asked. He stopped for a second. "Rukia is at home so I'll go ask her about it." Ichigo began walking again but Hitsugaya stood in front of him.

"Are you sure that is wise Kurosaki?" Hitsugaya asked, glaring at the other captain. "Why wouldn't it be?" Ichigo responded. Matsumoto now stood next to Hitsugaya.

"Hinamori said Rukia kept saying over and over that you have nothing to do with it. Well, with what? Getting the bruise or something else? It sounds like Rukia was acting a bit hysterical if you ask me."

Ichigo flashed an angry look at Matsumoto. "Why would she be acting hysterical? Rukia isn't the sort of person—"

"Wouldn't Rukia have just told you about the bruises? Now, seeing as you just got home yesterday I am assuming you hugged or at least touched Rukia and she didn't say anything. Hinamori just barely tapped Rukia's arm and she winced so Rukia must be hiding something from you. Why would she hide something like that Ichigo?"

Ichigo was once again dumbfounded. "So you think that Rukia had the bruises possibly before I got home and she was just hiding them from me?"

Matsumoto nodded her head. "Yes, that is a possibility." Hitsugaya spoke next.

"How has Rukia been acting around you at home? Is she normal?" Ichigo thought for a second but quickly found his answer.

"She told me she was sick with a cold and that her captain let her leave a little early from her division which would explain why she didn't want me around her too much."

Matsumoto perked up at this. "So she is hiding something." Ichigo still was sticking to the plan of going and asking Rukia about it and started heading out the door.

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto both placed a hand on his chest. "Listen Ichigo, the only reason I found out about this was because Hinamori sent me a top secret letter which in this case meaning that I could only read what the contents said. So look, Hinamori thought this was important enough to make sure that I only received this information and to tell you what is going on. The only reason my captain knows is because he was there when I received the letter from her.

"We can't tell Rukia or say anything about this around her. She wouldn't just hide something serious like this from you for no reason. Especially if it caused her to cry, which Rukia never does. I know this is going to be hard for you but you need to act normal and stay calm around her until we can figure out more about this."

Ichigo was silent for a long time. Something was happening to Rukia and she wasn't saying anything to him. He knew that she didn't want him being overprotective of her, but if what Hinamori saw was true, than this was much more than serious.

Rukia would never get so upset in front of others, not even in front of him. He also had the idea that what ever happened occurred while he was away.

"Alright," Ichigo muttered. "I won't say anything to her about this. But seriously, we need to figure out what and fast. I don't know how much I will be able to take."

The other two nodded. "Don't say a word to anyone Ichigo, not even someone like Renji. Continue to observe Rukia and I'll do the same. I'll meet you here again tomorrow night." Matsumoto said.

And with her last comment they left the deserted building and went their own ways.

The walk home was a slow one. Ichigo was now extremely worried about his wife. What could have caused such a horrible bruise? Why had she started to cry at the mention of Ichigo? Rukia was not the sort of person to act out like that.

He tried to think of something that would cause her to act like this, but nothing could form in his mind. Was someone hurting her? Did someone attack her while he was away and perhaps threaten her?

But Rukia would surely tell Ichigo if that were the case. If Rukia got injured or hurt while at the division doing something, that was one thing, but to immediately start crying when asked about it?

Ichigo shook his head and looked at the ground. He had received so much information in the past ten minutes that he wasn't sure if it was all real. Matsumoto had only heard everything from Hinamori, so should he talk to her about it?

Hinamori did send Matsumoto a very secretive letter though, so maybe not. Maybe Hinamori knew that Rukia didn't want anyone to know, though that was obvious.

If Rukia couldn't tell Ichigo, her own husband, then who could she tell? She hadn't even really told Hinamori anything. The only reason Hinamori knew something was wrong was due to the way Rukia acted towards Hinamori's question.

Finally reaching the front door, Ichigo slowly pushed it open. The house was strangely quiet and eerie, much like the first time he had returned to his home, only Rukia was not waiting at the top of the stairs.

Wondering where Rukia was exactly, he crawled up the stairs, assuming she would be in her room. Sure enough, sitting on a chair across the large bedroom sat Rukia, looking to be writing something down.

Ichigo didn't know what to do at first. He immediately wanted to bother her with questions but knew that he should listen to the advice Matsumoto and Hitsugaya had given him.

Finally scratching his orange head, he sighed and spoke. "Rukia" He said a bit softly. She stopped what she was doing and slowly turned to look at him.

Ichigo soon realized that Rukia looked extremely tired. "You ok?" He asked instinctively, hoping he didn't give something away. A cough soon escaped her mouth.

"I still feel sick; this cold is getting on my nerves." She said irritably. Ichigo forced a smile out. "Well why don't you sleep then?" He asked.

She only shrugged her shoulders. "There's too much work to get done." If Matsumoto hadn't said anything to Ichigo, he might have believed everything she said.

Rukia did after all never get ill, so how was he supposed to know how she would act to it. Even if something was happening to her, Rukia would toughen it out. Being stubborn was a key part of Rukia's personality, which for some unfathomable reason Ichigo loved about her.

As she started writing again, which he saw as a note to her captain, he watched her every movement as he changed his clothing.

Something he quickly noticed was how tense she appeared from behind. Her shoulders were hovering a bit higher than usual and her free hand looked to be shaking slightly.

Ichigo tried to see if he could catch a glimpse of her arms to see the bruise, but her sleeves were too far down.

Even before Matsumoto had said anything to him, he already suspected something. Now that his fears were true, he wasn't sure of how he would approach this to Rukia.

Rukia sealed up the note to her captain and set it aside, but still stayed in her seat. Ichigo looked at her face, in her eyes, but he didn't want to get caught staring at her.

Lucky for him, she started looking around for something, giving him the chance to look at her. Ichigo saw what he had never noticed before.

It was one thing for her face to be paler than usual, but her eyes, they looked so dull. He knew that when people became ill they always looked a bit dead, but Rukia's dullness looked to be somewhat different.

Another unnatural cough escaped her mouth she took a deep breath. "You really should go to sleep—"

"I'm fine." She snapped back. It was in that instant that Ichigo understood why Rukia's eyes had the strange dullness in them.

She was afraid.

"But what would Rukia possibly be afraid of?"

The night went on in silence, and finally, an hour later, Rukia crawled into bed next to Ichigo, but didn't scoot close to him.

An idea came into his head. "Maybe once she falls asleep I can glance at the bruises." He thought. Hinamori had seen them on her arms, so maybe when she was deep enough asleep…

Ichigo tried to move closer to Rukia, but instantly heard her deep breathing and understood that she was already asleep. "If she isn't sick, then why is she so tired?" When Ichigo first arrived home she had gone to bed early that night. If she had gotten into a fight of some sort then that could be the case.

He remembered a long time ago how her body had been weakened due to her spirit being injured and not her physical body, making her tired easily all the time. Was this the case?

Unfortunately, due to Rukia's sleeping position, Ichigo could not reach her arms without her possibly waking up.

Ichigo sighed and fell asleep himself, where he had nightmares of Rukia pushing him away and rejecting him.

The next day was the same. Rukia didn't say much to Ichigo and kept complaining about her stupid cold. Ichigo tried to say as much as he could to her, hoping that she would say more to him than she already was.

It seemed strange to him. The first day that Ichigo came back Rukia had acted pretty normally, besides the fake coughing and drowsiness, but now she barely looked at him and almost seemed to be avoiding him.

Didn't Rukia realize that Ichigo knew something was wrong? It was really eating at him. He wanted to know, he needed to know.

Ichigo had the nature of wanting to help others, so with the present situation, it was really messing him up. Nothing bothered him more than Rukia, his own wife, the one person he trusted the most, to be hiding something so large from him.

He knew it had to be something big because her behaviors proved it. The little "I'm sick" act was getting old and fast. The more Rukia coughed and tried to look miserable (which she did) was already dying down.

The day at his division was a long one. His vice captain gave him the wrong set of papers to do, causing him to do more paperwork, and all of the new shinigami weren't paying attention as he trained them.

"If you guys don't feel like listening to me than you can just leave!" Ichigo shouted. He knew he was never this harsh to them, but taking out his anger and frustration on all of their small little faces seemed to be pleasing at the moment.

A few of the smaller girls watched everyone else to see what they would do, and after another moment of everyone staring at one another, they began to spar again.

Ichigo sighed and watched as they continued to fight. When the day was done, he once again saw Matsumoto standing outside the same designated building like before.

After getting a nod of approval from her, they stepped inside the room, but this time Hitsgaya was not with them.

"The captain was called to speak with Yamatoto-taichou." She said sharply before Ichigo could ask anything.

"So," She began. "Did you notice anything?" She asked. Ichigo didn't understand what she meant at first, but then answered her question.

"Rukia is definitely acting strangely." Ichigo said. He explained to Matsumoto how Rukia wouldn't look at him and always seemed shaky.

"You said you think she is afraid of something?" Matsumoto asked, pondering over his words. "Yah, it was sort of hard to see at first, but the more I watched her, the more obvious it became." Ichigo responded.

Matsumoto didn't say anything for a long time. "I don't know what to do. If someone is hurting her…"

Another moment of silence passed through the abandoned room. Ichigo and Matsumoto whipped their heads up at the same time to see someone coming inside through the door.

"Hitsugaya-taichou." Matsumoto said surprised. He stood in the door looking a little out of breath with a small envelope in his hand.

"Yamamoto-taichou wanted you to have this." He said handing Ichigo the envelope.

Ichigo already knew that this could only mean one thing. "There have been more attacks?" Ichigo asked irritated. Hitsugaya stood in his usual folded arms stance. "It looks that way, and we have to go investigate."

"When do we leave?" Ichigo asked. Hitsugaya paused for a long time. "Within the next hour."

Ichigo's first response was to go, but then he remembered Rukia and how something might have happened to her while he was away. Would something happen to her again if he left?

Hitsugaya seemed to know exactly what Ichigo was thinking. "Listen Ichigo, there won't be anything you can say to Yamamoto-taichou to allow you to stay, I'm sorry."

"I realize that, but I don't want something to happen to Rukia." Ichigo muttered. Matsumoto finally spoke. "Well, what if I kept a close eye on her?" She asked. Ichigo turned his head to her. "How will you manage that? You're captain will be away too making it busy."

Matsumoto thought for a second or two and spoke again. "Maybe I could ask the division of technology for some help. Perhaps they could give me something." Hitsugaya shook his head.

"That won't work Matsumoto. They've got a lot to worry about right now with the illness of their captain." She started to look angry. "Well I want to do something! We need to figure out what's going on!"

Ichigo was pretty surprised by how much Matsumoto wanted to help and he was grateful for it. "Why don't you start by watching before and after you work? I doubt something would happen to her while she's at the division, too many guards around and what not." Hitsugaya said. He looked as bored as ever.

Matsumoto slowly nodded her head. "It's not much but it might help us find out something." Ichigo agreed. "As soon as you find anything out I want you to tell me." He demanded.

After they each left the building, Ichigo made his way home to tell his wife of his second departure in the past week. He had only been home a few days and he already had to go back to the human world.

Once he entered his home, he saw Rukia lying asleep on a nearby couch. "That's bizarre, she never sleeps here." He whispered. She had been sleeping so much lately, what was going on?

Than another thought hit him. "Could Rukia be pregnant?" He thought. Though that wouldn't describe the bruises, she was always tired and snappy. His thoughts soon disappeared as he remembered a law in Soul Society.

"No child can be born in Soul Society until after ten years of marriage." He rolled his eyes. Out of all of the Soul Society rules, and there were a lot, that was by the far the strangest. It's the only way children can be born though. "You have to be married, and for ten years, otherwise it is impossible."

Ichigo felt relieved that Rukia wasn't pregnant because he just wasn't ready for it yet. Even though they had been married for seven years, it's really nothing compared to the length they will be in Soul Society.

Of course Ichigo wanted to have children and Rukia did too, but they wanted to be ready and prepared for a baby.

"Rukia" He said softly while pushing on her arm gently. When she didn't budge, he remembered what he wanted to see last night. "I can see the bruises now." He thought to himself.

Slowly moving his arm closer to Rukia's, he gently started pulling her sleeve up. After pausing to make sure she didn't move, he continued.

His eyes grew wide with shock. Right below Rukia's elbows were the deepest and darkest bruises he had ever seen. Anger immediately threatened to pour out, but he had to calm himself.

Rukia couldn't know that he knew something was wrong. He still didn't know why it was such a big deal to keep it from her, but something in his gut told him to.

After completely calming himself down, he woke Rukia up. Ichigo now had to explain to her the attacks. "Rukia," He said again. She opened her eyes to turn and look at him, but there was still fear and doubt in them.

Deciding he wouldn't be able to look at Rukia while he said this, he averted his eyes to the ground. "What is it Ichigo?" She asked.

"I just received word from Yamamoto-taichou, there were some more attacks, and I have to leave in the next thirty minutes."

When Rukia didn't say anything, he finally looked at her and regretted it. Her face was somehow even paler than before and her eyes were wide yet dull still. When she realized Ichigo staring at her, she shook her head and looked away.

"I hope it isn't always like this." She whispered. Ichigo moved to the couch she was sitting on and looked at her confused. "First it was a week, and now it's only a few days, soon you'll never come back. You'll always be gone." Rukia had never sounded so depressed and Ichigo really considered blowing off his mission and staying.

"I know Rukia. I really don't want to go." Ichigo said softly, taking a hand and putting it in Rukia's. For a moment she looked about to say something, but dropped her head instead.

"It's ok, I know you have to do it." Ichigo moved closer to her and gave her a hug. Rukia slowly relaxed under his grasp and reached her arms out around him.

"Please come back soon and try to stay for more than a few days." Rukia whispered. Ichigo chuckled. "I'll try k?"

She moved back just a bit to look at his face. "Ichigo" She whispered, and he began to kiss her.

Then abruptly, there was a knock on their door. Ichigo pulled away from a breathless Rukia and went to retrieve it.

A minute later, Ichigo returned with Renji and Hitsugaya. "It looks like we have to go now, I'm sorry." Ichigo said. Rukia slowly stood up and gave him one last hug and kiss, ignoring the two other men in the room.

"Be careful" She whispered.

"Love yah" He whispered back. With one last kiss he left again. The moment the door closed Ichigo knew something was wrong, but for the time being he had to ignore the pang in his stomach.

"Please be safe Rukia" He thought giving his home one last look.

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**A/N: **This chapter was pretty long eh? Well I hope you all enjoyed it and Ichigo finally realizes that something is not right, but he is pretty far from knowing what's really happening, and when he finds out, those two men are going to wish they never messed with Rukia!! The next chapter is going to be more of Ichigo's POV also, and he might finally realize what is going on!! Please review and tell me what you thought, I'm dying to know!!


	8. Realization

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

How will Ichigo deal with staying in the human world while Rukia has to go see you know who? Read and find out. Oh, and I have been extremely nervous to post this chapter (I've edited it like a billion times…) so please be kind to me!

P.S- The chapters are usually going to be about this length for now on hopefully, but that might mean fewer chapters…

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.8 Realization

"Where's Ukitake?" Ichigo asked as they made their way to the exit of Soul Society. "Renji's taking his spot." Hitsugaya said flatly.

"So Rukia is still er, sick or whatever?" Renji asked. Ichigo nodded. "In all the years I've known Rukia, she's only gotten ill once, and it wasn't too bad, just a cold like now."

Ichigo perked up at this. "Do you remember how she acted?" He asked suspiciously. Renji looked confused by the question.

"Well, it was a long time ago, what do you mean by how she acted?" Renji asked back. Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You know, like was she drowsy all the time? Did she sleep a lot?" Ichigo was now standing extremely close to Renji, making him rather uncomfortable.

"Back off Ichigo, I don't remember. Why are you harassing me anyways?" Renji asked. Ichigo just sighed and stepped a few feet away, not saying another word.

"Don't worry so much about it Ichigo." Hitsugaya said loud enough for only Ichigo to hear. "Matsumoto's got a close eye on her, and who knows, we could be making a big deal about nothing."

Ichigo really hoped it was nothing, but he knew that sadly they did need to worry and that something was going on with Rukia.

Once they passed through the portal, they sensed for where the attacks were coming from. "We have to get there and quickly if we want to catch the offenders." Renji shouted.

"It's north, let's go." Hitsugaya said calmly and they all rushed to the area. Using shunpo to reach their designation faster, they saw police everywhere but no bodies.

"They're still inside the building, c'mon, let's go." Hitsugaya demanded and Ichigo and Renji followed him through a window.

The bodies were all next to each other and appeared to have no physical damage done. "So all of these men were killed in this building?" Renji asked.

"That's what it looks like, but why would the attacker kill these people? Do they have something the attacker wants?" Ichigo asked.

All three of them began to search around the room and building, but they found nothing. "We got here much faster than last time and we still can't find a single trace." Hitsugaya said frustrated.

Renji stopped looking at the bodies and spoke. "Well what if the attacker killed from far away, like another place somehow. I've heard of that being possible." Renji said.

"That could be true, almost every time the killings happened the reiatsu vanishes quite a bit by the time we reached the attacks, but that still doesn't solve how we are going to find out who did this." Hitsugaya said.

"It seems almost impossible. I mean we don't have any trace of any kind to lead to them. The only thing we can do next is try to find out who they might target next in hope that when ever the next person is attacked it will give us some sort of clue." Ichigo said.

Renji and Hitsugaya nodded at this. "Let's find out who these men were that were killed and see if they have any sort of relations to one another." Renji said.

Since three of the men were killed, Renji, Ichigo and Hitsugaya took one each and searched their bodies. They found the wallets of the bodies that the police hadn't collected yet.

"Riko Hemino. He works at a bank as a teller and didn't have any other immediate family members. I don't see how he has any relation to the other two." Hitsugaya said as he continued to look over the parchments he found.

"Same here, this guy Tokisho doesn't have any peculiar evidence." Ichigo said.

"Well what if we go and search their homes?" Renji asked.

An idea formed in Ichigo's head. "What if they were trying to get attention for something? You know to hide what they were really doing. Perhaps the attacker knew that we would investigate this in the hopes that they could get away with whatever it is they are really doing."

Hitsugaya shook his head. "That could be a possibility, but we still don't have any evidence. These men are all completely different, so there could be an endless possibility of what the attacker is really up to."

Renji sighed. "Then where do we go from here? I sort of liked Ichigo's idea about the attacker covering up something else that's happened. Why don't we start looking into that?"

"But where do we begin?" Hitsugaya asked. They were all silent as they thought. There was not a single clue to lead them to the next destination, so where should they start?

They were so deep in thought that they didn't realize Matsumoto crawling through the window. "Matsumoto! What are you doing here?" Hitsugaya shouted.

She looked straight at Ichigo and he immediately understood. "What's wrong with Rukia?" He asked. Hitsugaya closed his eyes and Renji just looked lost.

Matsumoto couldn't speak as she handed him the piece of paper. Ichigo looked confused at first but saw the paper was a letter. "Read it." She stuttered.

In a matter of seconds the room felt different, cold. Matsumoto only struggled to watch as Ichigo fought to keep reading the letter and the further he read the more dangerous the room became.

She could sense the anger illuminating from him. The letter slowly slid from Ichigo's trembling hands and on to the ground. "Ichigo" Matsumoto finally said softly but Hitsugaya placed a hand on her shoulder telling her to stop.

Renji who was completely confused didn't breathe out a word as he watched his friend struggle with himself.

Seeing the questionable look on Hitsugaya's face, Matsumoto picked up the letter and handed it to Hitsugaya.

Once he finished reading the paper he too felt anger. "Where did you get this Matsumoto?" He hissed.

"From a messenger, it's from Rukia herself." Nothing was making sense. "Ichigo listen, we need to make a plan so we can stop what's going on." Matsumoto said softly and she regretted it. For just one brief second Ichigo pierced through Matsumoto with his eyes.

"Do they have her now?" Ichigo whispered out finally. His voice sounded rough a his hands tingled to grip his sword.

"I don't know Ichigo, but it's a possibility." And before Matsumoto could say anything else Ichigo dashed out the room.

"I don't understand what's going on. Where is he going?" Renji said looking annoyed.

"She's been raped Renji, not just once, but several times, and she couldn't tell anyone."

Nobody needed to explain who the she was that they were referring to. Ignoring the shock on Renji's face from what Hitsugaya had just said Matsumoto dashed out the door as well to see where Ichigo would go.

No one's anger could compare to the dark feeling that swirled around Ichigo. He felt himself crumbling to pieces with each step he took. His breath shortened as adrenaline filled his blood. Nothing would process through his mind, only images that he never dared to think. Rukia, screaming, fighting for the men to stop, but they wouldn't, they kept going further and _further_…

Ichigo's sword was now gripped in his hand; his reiatsu was bouncing off the wall. If he didn't control himself soon, something, or better yet, _someone_ would pull forward. And for once, Ichigo welcomed his darker side to come into the open, to murder the two men, torture them even.

His wife, Rukia, the girl who saved him countless times, the person that made him complete, had been hurt, and possibly broken. How this could happen without his knowledge scared him more than anything, and she had hidden it, _everything_.

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It was only 8 o'clock at night when Ichigo left, so was she suppose to go and see them? As if hearing her question, a note fluttered out of nowhere into the room and onto the desk.

Dreading every second as she walked to the retrieve the note, she slowly picked it up.

_**Dear Rukia,**_

_**It has come to our attention that your husband has left to the human world, so please meet us at the same place this evening at 10 o'clock. **_

_**Love,**_

_**You know who.**_

Rukia tensed up and fast. She thought that everything had just been a huge nightmare. Ichigo had come home after five days and she thought that perhaps he wouldn't have to leave again, but to her unluckiness, just a few days afterwards he was already called back to look for clues of something he would never find.

As 9:45 rolled around, Rukia began making her way to the place that haunted her in her sleep every night.

She thought of the first day Ichigo had returned and how happy she felt. Ichigo was kind and warm to her and believed her little sick act. But as the days passed, it began to get hard for Rukia to be around Ichigo.

The more she thought of what was happening, the more she wanted to spill. She avoided talking to him due to the fact that she might burst and tell him everything, but she would never allow it.

Ichigo was going to live, and she would make sure of that.

Her eyes cringed as she saw a man with a cloak covering his body. Rukia could already see his disgusting smirk from her distance.

Silently, she walked into the room and waited for the man to tie her up. "It's been a while hasn't it. We both really missed you." He whispered with sickness.

Something inside Rukia felt different. She didn't know what it was, but something was telling her to not allow them to hurt her, to fight against them, but she ignored the feeling.

Her body soon became limp. Two arms caught her body and she shivered. "Things are going to start getting a little different." He whispered.

Rukia swore she could hear some hint of anger or annoyance, and she quickly started to worry.

Ten minutes later, Rukia's blind fold was tossed onto the ground and she was shoved to the floor. The two men stood in front of her, both of their lips curved into a straight and serious line.

She watched their every move, trying to see what they would do. "You know Rukia, you're pretty brave." One of them said. "I mean really, you know we've been watching you're every move and you still try to somehow, escape."

"But unfortunately," The other began. "We aren't stupid Rukia, and we know what you have done." Rukia only kept her stare at them and waited for them to continue.

The first man picked up a letter which Rukia instantly recognized. "You gave this to that girl Hinamori didn't you?" He asked, but Rukia only looked away.

"Well you don't need to give us an answer, you are the only one who could possibly write it." The second said.

"I mean who else could write a letter explaining in great detail what has been going on. The letter even has the time and dates that only you would know and it's addressed from you."

When Rukia realized this was the only letter they had found, she smiled. "Now, lucky for you the girl Hinamori never received the letter, but if she had, you're husband would be gone."

"I can't believe it Rukia, how could you be so careless of your husband's life? Don't you understand what would have happened if she had received this information?" They sat on both sides of her.

Rukia felt a pulsing close to her body, and averted her eyes forward. Her sword was sitting up against the opposite wall calling to her, but how could she move?

"You know what I find interesting Rukia?" One asked. "You get very upset at the mention of your husband being killed, but what about the innocent people in the human world that have died, don't you feel any guilt for that?"

Rukia looked down. This had never occurred to her before. "You're being selfish in a way. By allowing your husband to live, you're letting those humans who have families die."

"Why do you want me to tell someone so badly?" She hissed. Tears started trailing down her cheeks as more guilt consumed her. They both laughed.

"Oh dear Rukia, we're only toying with you. Unfortunately, we have decided to punish you for your attempt to admit what is going on to someone."

They were acting very differently tonight and it was really bothering her. "And how will you do that, I thought I was already being punished." She managed to mutter.

They once again laughed. "Oh Rukia, there is so much you don't understand."

"Rukia, we want you to do something for us after we have our business together. You see, we want you to well, deliver a message to someone for us."

Rukia chuckled and it frightened her. "A message? What sort of message? She asked. They both smirked and one of them pulled a closed envelope.

"It's simple really, once you've finished you're business here go and deliver the message, but make sure to hide yourself."

"Who is this message for?" She asked and hoped she didn't sound as if she were giving into what they wanted. "Kuchiki Byakuya."

Now this made entirely no sense, what did they want with her brother? "What do you want with him?" She asked angrily. They smiled.

"That's not what the point of this is Rukia. It's for you to do and obey what we say or your husband could die." This was getting too far.

"I'm not going to deliver anything until I understand what Byakuya has to do with any of this." She said angrily. Their faces were serious. "Ryou, pull her on the bed." Hiraku said. Rukia was chucked onto the soft sheets and they dangled over her dangerously.

"Maybe you just need some reminding to who we actually are." Ryou said. She only glared at him angrily.

Ryou and Hiraku were pretty smart, but they failed to realize something extremely important, the second letter she had written that was signed for Matsumoto.

Rukia knew that Hinamori would tell Matsumoto about her outburst with her bruises she decided to write two letters, one being hidden under the first so as not to be seen.

They hadn't mentioned Matsumoto at all, so that could only mean Matsumoto would hopefully receive the letter and get it to Ichigo. They were really foolish.

"Ichigo" She thought, hoping he would save her. Before Rukia could think of anything else she felt two hot lips rip onto hers.

Her eyes widened in disbelief and she tried with all her force to push him away. Why did this man kissing her make her feel so much worse than when they raped her?

When the first man pulled away she pleaded with them to stop but was only met by another pair of hot, disgusting lips.

She was helpless again and she wanted to scream. "We knew you wouldn't like this too much, so we decided to give it a go. You can never escape us, you are our slave." One of them whispered as the other kissed her arms.

"NO!" She screamed but was cut off by more lips crashing onto hers roughly. "It's your fault Rukia, so just accept it." The other whispered in between kisses.

They started to untie her clothing and she tried with all her might to move her body, but it wouldn't budge. She lifted her eyes to see if she could see the cards and sure enough they sat at the small desk at the side.

"If I can somehow reach those cards, then they can't hurt Ichigo or anyone else." As they continued to touch her, she tried to move her finger and to her luck, it wiggled slightly.

She concentrated on her hands and ignored everything around her. "Please, come on please!" She thought to herself.

But her finger wouldn't move again afterwards. The two had won again and now they wanted her doing other things for her. But why her brother? What did they want with him?

In an instant, the two men stopped abruptly and stood over her. She watched as one of them grabbed the deck of cards.

Hope that she had never felt before fluttered throughout her body as she recognized the person's reiatsu. "Don't move." The man called with the cards.

He was so close to her. "Ichigo" She whispered, but couldn't speak loudly for some reason.

And there he was, standing in the doorway with his hand clenched tightly around his large sword. The room felt completely different. For just one brief moment, their eyes met, and she allowed every emotion to come to the surface. He saw it all: fear, pain, love, sacrifice, it was all shown on her face.

Rukia felt an arm grip around her waist as she was pulled up. "Get near her and I'll kill her." The second man said. She felt her sword pulse again but could do nothing.

Rukia slowly turned her head in its direction. "_Let her go_." A menacing voice called. Rukia was shocked to realize it was Ichigo's.

The two men laughed. "Do you really think it's that simple? I don't know how you found out what's going on but it isn't going to end here."

After looking at Rukia's body Ichigo quickly looked away with an even more painful expression on his face. He couldn't stand to see that blank expression on her face and her clothes weren't covering her body well enough…

A second later two people appeared next to Ichigo. Matsumoto and Hitsugaya. The two men laughed again.

"If you don't let her go I'll _kill you_." Ichigo hissed. "Well obviously you want to kill us anyways. We have after all been screwing your wife for the past week."

Ichigo's gripped his sword tighter as a blast of energy leaped from his body shattering some glass nearby. "But we couldn't help it, she's just so luscious." The man holding Rukia whispered as his arm traveled to her chest.

Ichigo could no longer control himself and lunged for the man holding Rukia while Matsumoto charged towards the other.

Rukia fell to the ground as Ichigo began to fight the man. His movements were sharp and aggressive. Her eyes widened when the man pulled out a sword of his own and started attacking Ichigo back. "Matsumoto, get the cards!" She screamed. Matsumoto punched the man's right arm and the cards flew out of his hands.

Rukia tried to crawl to them but she couldn't move her body enough. Luckily for her Hitsugaya grabbed them all right before the second man pulled out his sword.

"No!" One of them hissed. Ichigo sword had stabbed the man's arm. He ripped his sword from his body and they continued to fight. There was so much blood lust in Ichigo's eyes.

"Go on then, kill us." One of them said. As the fight continued the hoods covering the men's faces slowly slid off.

The two men appeared to be young. One had light brown hair while the other had a deep black. They both had the same piercing green eyes.

Ichigo didn't just want to kill them, he wanted to torture them. "I really should kill you, but you deserve far worse than death!" Ichigo screamed. The man he was fighting only grinned.

Rukia felt hot tears pour down her cheeks as she watched her husband struggle with himself.

"_WHY_ did you do this to her? _WHY_ did you go to such links to get to her?" He screamed at them. The two men only grinned. The other one fighting Matsumoto spoke.

"Why wouldn't we want Rukia. You married her so you should understand. We watched you both for a long time and we decided that we should have Rukia the way you do and it felt so good too."

Ichigo screamed and stabbed his sword into the man's side but they continued to fight.

"Hitsugaya get Rukia out of here!" Ichigo screamed as he fought the man off. He nodded and helped Rukia out of the room. "NO! I want to see Ichigo!" She screamed, but Hitsugaya pulled her off the ground.

In the five seconds that Ichigo dropped his guard the man shoved Ichigo into the wall and placed his sword to his neck.

"I could kill you right now." The man hissed. Ichigo wasn't going to die, not until these two were good and dead.

"But I think it's time we get going what do you say brother?" He asked. The other nodded as he struggled to keep Matsumoto off of him. "Yes, we can finish this some other time."

And in one flash the room filled with smoke and the sword holding Ichigo down was gone.

"This isn't the end!" One screamed and they both vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Ichigo's face was now more vicious than ever as he ran outside to somehow chase after them.

"COWARDS! They think they can just get away?! I'll chase those bastards down! I'll _torture_ them and _kill _them and make them wish they had never _touched_ her!" He screamed. Rukia watched him screaming and more tears poured down her cheeks.

Nobody spoke a word as they heard the shallow breaths coming from Ichigo. Rukia couldn't even look at him. "Ichigo" Matsumoto finally said softly.

"We'll keep a look out for them but for now why don't you go to Rukia." She said kindly. The words seemed to ease Ichigo and he nodded his head. When Ichigo turned around his eyes landed on Rukia's.

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto scooted back as Ichigo approached Rukia.

He crouched next to her and lifted her dropped head. "Rukia, I—"

"Can you fix my clothing, I can't move very much." She whispered cutting him off. Ichigo slowly pulled her sleeves back up her shoulders but not before he noticed the horrible bruises all over. He wasn't done screaming yet, but at the moment he needed to be with his wife.

His arms slowly and silently slid around her. "I'll carry you." He said as softly and gently as possible. And with one swift motion he picked his wife up. Rukia could still see the anger blazing from him.

Never in her entire life did she feel so safe. Ichigo knew everything and she didn't have to hide the secret anymore.

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**A/N:** Ok, so let me just say that this was an extremely difficult chapter to write (And I still didn't like how it turned out…) But hopefully you all did. Ichigo figured everything out and he even attacked the men. I really hope everyone felt his anger for the two men and even though they escaped, it's not over yet. And I know the fight scene probably felt rushed but it's supposed to be like that. Oh and the reason the two men didn't notice Matsumoto ever because they were too busy keeping their eye on Hinamori and not worrying about her (they're pretty dumb right?) SO why do they want to give Byakuya a message and why do they want Rukia to be the one to send it? And who's excited about Ichigo finally figuring it out! I wanted to drag it on a little further but I just couldn't do it. And this story isn't close to being finished so keep reading and I'll update soon.

PLEASE REVIEW!!


	9. Comfort Her

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

How will Rukia react to being with Ichigo? Will she push him away? Read and find out!

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.9 Comfort Her

Ichigo's grip on Rukia tightened as the faces of those monsters flashed through his mind. He glanced down at his small wife to see her looking out in the distance.

She looked so broken and weak and it really tore him up inside.

"Let's get you to see Unohana alright?" Ichigo asked. Rukia barely nodded her head. Ichigo really didn't know how to feel about all of this.

His wife had been taken against her will while he was gone and was threatened. If she didn't do as they said then he could have possibly been killed. He felt a large amount of guilt for understanding that.

Ichigo wouldn't be leaving on a mission for a long time, even if he was demoted from captain. The two men were still around and alive, and he would protect her until they were stopped, or killed.

He kissed her head as they approached the clinic. Unohana was already up and waiting for them. "Bring her in here please." The woman said softly.

Ichigo did as he was told and laid Rukia down onto one of the beds. "Why can't you move Rukia?" She asked. "They put some sort of binding curse on my body." Rukia said softly.

Ichigo couldn't help but look at his weakened wife. Her clothes were still not on properly and the front of her kimono was pulled down almost to her stomach. Her hair was a complete mess and she looked more tired than ever.

"They're still out there somewhere, so we need to be on the lookout for them." Ichigo said. Hitsugaya nodded.

A moment later two people emerged into the room. "Rukia!" Hinamori cried as she ran towards her bed. Hitsugaya stopped her.

"She'll be alright now Hinamori." Hitsugaya whispered to her as his arm wrapped around her waist. The second person to emerge walked in calmly yet angrily.

"Kurosaki, what is the meaning of this?" Kuchiki Byakuya demanded as he saw Rukia's weakened state.

"You don't know?" Ichigo asked as he finally took his eyes off of Rukia.

"All I heard was Hinamori crying about Rukia, so I followed her." Byakuya stated coldly. The room was silent for a moment.

"Byakuya, you see, Rukia, well, she's been raped." Matsumoto stated as she saw that Ichigo couldn't say the words. Byakuya twitched with anger and looked back towards his sister.

"Can I have a word with you Kurosaki?" He hissed. Ichigo didn't want to be away from Rukia but followed him.

Once they were outside, Byakuya nearly exploded on Ichigo. "How could you let this happen? Don't you care about what happens to her?" Byakuya nearly yelled. Ichigo was quite surprised by his voice.

"If you think that I would _ever_ let something this horrible happen to her than you've got it all wrong!" Ichigo screamed. "Don't go preaching at me about what has happened because trust me I feel pretty damn guilty about everything! You weren't there to witness the look of _terror_ on her face! I almost killed them but they slipped right out of my grasp but I'll get them." The last part was directed to no one but himself.

Byakuya fell silent. "I'll let this slide for now but I want to talk about this more later." When the two walked back inside it was obvious everyone had heard the entire argument.

"I need everyone to leave the room please." Unohana advised. "Why do we need to leave?" Ichigo asked angrily. He was sick of people telling him what to do.

"I'm going to need to check her entire body and I'm sure she would feel rather uncomfortable with a bunch of men in here so please leave."

Ichigo looked at Rukia to see her eyes averted downward. Without saying anything they all left. "Hinamori and Matsumoto, Rukia would like you to stay."

Rukia was afraid, but she wanted to at least be with some people she knew well. If it hadn't been for Hinamori and Matsumoto then nobody would know and she would still be there getting tortured...

She shut all thoughts out of her mind as Unohana helped her stand up. "Can you move?" Unohana asked. "Not very much."

Within an instant Unohana placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder and closed her eyes. A small green light formed around Rukia. "Can you move now?" Unohana asked.

Rukia nodded her head. "Alright, well as soon as I look at the bruises, I'll heal your body ok?" She asked. Rukia only nodded again.

Rukia removed her clothing and let Unohana look over whatever she needed. About ten minutes later the men were called back into the room.

"I need to speak with you for a moment alone Ichigo, please come with me." They made their way outside.

"Yes what is it?" He asked. Unohana looked a bit disturbed. "Ichigo, I thought I should tell you this because you are her husband. Rukia has been raped but it's much more than that. Now lucky for her nothing was physically damaged too a bad degree, but she is going to be sore for a while."

Ichigo fought the urge to punch a nearby wall. "Why does she have to go through all of this?" He whispered angrily.

"Ichigo, I need to explain more of this to you. She may be able to heal physically, but mentally, it could take much longer. When a woman is raped, she usually becomes traumatized and unstable. Not only was Rukia raped several times, but she was forced to hide it from everyone. The stress she has undergone is very unhealthy."

"What are you getting at?" Ichigo asked still keeping his head down. "For something so horrible like this to happen to her, she's taking it all very well and could possibly heal within the next year or longer. But, if Rukia seems afraid of you in anyway you must not be offended."

Ichigo's hands clenched into fists. "If she asks you to step away from her or even for you to leave the room you need to just listen to what she says. Do you understand?" She asked in a very serious tone.

"Yes, I understand. Will Rukia ever recover?" He asked. Unohana looked away. "It would look that way, but Rukia hasn't really had one second to sit down and breath. When she wasn't being tortured she was having to lie to everyone. All you can do now is be there for her. That's the one cure she can get from you Ichigo. I know you love her very much and this is very hard on you too so please, comfort her."

Ichigo nodded and made his way back to Rukia.

The only people speaking in the room were Matsumoto and Hinamori. Rukia had fallen asleep on the bed. "You are free to go now, though I advise to keep Rukia with a large amount of people. Those two men are still on the loose after all."

"You can stay in my home." Byakuya said. Ichigo didn't feel like arguing with the man and nodded. Unohana looked at the other two girls.

"I think it would be best if you two stayed close to her. She might want a female to be around her. Is it alright if they stay too?" She asked looking at Byakuya.

Byakuya nodded and they made their way out. "Be careful Toshirou." Hinamori said as she hugged the now taller man.

He kissed her lightly on the lips and disappeared. Ichigo carefully picked Rukia up as to not wake her and they made their way to the Kuchiki mansion.

Once they entered through the front door, Byakuya gave them each rooms. "You two can sleep in this room next to Rukia's. Ichigo, you can sleep in here." He pointed to the room on the other side.

"Sorry but I'm going to be sleeping in the same room as my wife." Ichigo muttered. Byakuya glared at him and turned the other way. "I want to talk to you more about this in the morning Kurosaki." He said one last time and disappeared down the hallway.

Rukia was still sound asleep in his arms. "If you need anything just call for us." Hinamori said kindly. He nodded at her and entered the bedroom.

Even though all of her bruises were gone, she still looked injured and hurt. Ichigo almost wanted to wake her up so she could change, but decided that she should sleep.

He placed her onto the futon and laid next to her. Ichigo kept a little distance so she wouldn't be frightened if she woke up.

The mission and everything had been a set up just so Ichigo would get away from Rukia. The men killed innocent people just so they could get what they wanted.

Even in her sleep she looked to be in pain. There were no words that could describe his hatred towards these two men. If he met them again and he knew he would, he wouldn't be able to control himself. They_ wouldn't_ escape.

They had hurt his wife in such a horrible way. He now understood why she had cried when Hinamori had asked about her bruise that day when she had the meeting, it was because she couldn't tell anyone.

Knowing that Rukia had to hide everything, and to protect him only made him feel worse. "Ichigo?" Rukia whispered next to him.

"I'm here." He whispered back. She slowly sat up and looked at her surroundings. "Where are we?" She asked confused. "We're at your brother's house."

"Why don't you sleep now ok?" He asked softly. Rukia had no energy to respond as she slipped back into a deep sleep. And several hours after he drifted asleep, he felt Rukia moving next to him. "Ichigo?" She whispered softly.

"Hmm? What is it Rukia?" He asked. Ichigo was relieved that she hadn't screamed to seeing him next to her.

"Ichigo, can we get something to eat?" She asked. Ichigo was sort of confused by the question for Rukia never asked for food at such an hour.

"Alright, I'll go get you something." As he started to stand up Rukia pulled on his sleeve. "I want to come."

Ichigo didn't want to fight with her so he let her come. "I can carry you if you want." He whispered. She shook her head. "I can walk, don't worry." But as Rukia stood and quickly winced in pain, Ichigo lifted her into his arms without saying a word.

Rukia was too tired to protest and allowed him to carry her out of the room. Ichigo finally found the kitchen and set her on the counter since there was no table in sight.

It was then that Ichigo realized he didn't know where any of the food was. Unlike the human world where things were pre-made, the word snack did not exist in Soul Society.

As Ichigo scrambled around for food, Rukia kept her head down with her arms on both sides. "Ichigo," She asked softly.

"Yah, what is it?" He asked as he continued to look around. Rukia lifted her head to look at him but dropped it again. "You know everything now, don't you?"

Ichigo stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her. "Yah, Rukia, I know." After a long silence, Ichigo continued to look for food again, determined to get Rukia something to eat.

And that's when he heard it, a soft but quiet sob. He turned around again to see Rukia's shoulders shaking violently when another sob escaped.

In that instant his heart sank. Ichigo walked over slowly to Rukia. "Ichigo, I'm s-so sorry!" She choked out. He placed his hands on her shoulders gently.

"Rukia, you have nothing to be sorry about." This only caused Rukia to cry harder and Ichigo couldn't handle it. In all his life of know this girl he had never seen her looking so fragile.

And without thinking he moved closer to her. Rukia placed her hands on his chest and cried more as Ichigo's hands fell around her back and head.

"Ichigo" She choked out. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." He whispered back. All of his anger subsided as he held his small wife in his arms.

She pulled on his kimono as she sobbed more. Ichigo knew that the situation was just now beginning to sink into his chest and that his hatred would have to stay bottled up for now.

Rukia needed him the most right now and he wouldn't leave until she wanted him to. "I'll never let anyone else hurt you Rukia, I love you." He whispered into her ear as he ran his fingers down her hair.

Rukia nodded at this. "I l-love you." She whispered back. "I wasn't g-going to risk them h-hurting you, not e-even if they were bluffing."

He held her even tighter. "You're amazing, you know that?" He whispered to her smiling. Rukia had gone through all that pain for him. Even though he wished she hadn't, he felt so much love for her.

They had blackmailed her and she could have given in at any time, but she didn't.

"We're going to get through this and I promise they won't ever get near you. I'll kill them if they do."

"It h-hurt so much Ichigo." She cried. "And then t-tonight before y-you came, they k-kissed me and I tried my h-hardest to imagine it w-was y-you." Their lips had _touched _hers and it killed him inside to think about.

He didn't want to imagine anymore. The fact that they raped her was already a deep stab. Rukia pulled her head back just enough to look at him.

One of her hands came up and caressed his cheek. "I w-was scared that I would be afraid of you, b-but I'm so glad I'm not." She said softly. Tears still fell down her cheeks but she was no longer sobbing.

Ichigo rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "I would never hurt you." He whispered to her. Rukia nodded willingly. "I'm s-so glad you know e-everything." She said back to him with her head in his chest. A moment later she pulled her head back up to his face.

"Ichigo, k-kiss me." She said leaning her head closer. "Rukia, I don't want to scare you." Ichigo whispered. "Ichigo, y-you won't. I p-promise." Her voice shook violently.

"Please, just l-let me know you're real." He paused for a long time but slowly brought his lips down onto hers so he wouldn't frighten her in anyway. Rukia immediately moaned and placed her hands on his neck, pulling him closer.

The kiss deepened slightly and Ichigo pushed Rukia a little closer. She still continued to cry even as he kissed her but they were tears of joy.

Her husband was with her and loved her. Feeling his touch made everything better.

After pulling himself from Rukia, she didn't seem hungry for food any longer. He carried her upstairs and into their small guest room. Ichigo kissed her once more as they lay down together.

She continued to whisper his name and he smiled. The anger had completely subsided at the moment as he caressed his wife's face.

Rukia enjoyed every minute of it. Even as thoughts of the two men came into her mind, she didn't care. She had Ichigo.

"You need to sleep now Rukia." He whispered kissing her forehead. She nodded and snuggled into his chest. "I love yah." He whispered.

"I love you too." Rukia said back and kissed his chest.

There would still be more problems in the future, but they didn't matter. Ichigo and Rukia had each other and that was what they pondered on.

When Rukia woke up the next morning, she felt someone lying next to her and smiled. Ichigo was there and he knew everything, _everything_.

Ichigo moaned and looked to see Rukia smiling up at him. "Good morning beautiful." He whispered groggily. She only continued to smile. He looked into her eyes and saw an emotion he truly missed.

Happiness. The feeling was faint, but it was there. And so, he smiled back. "How do you feel?" He asked softly. "Ok I guess." There was much more meaning to her answer.

Rukia wasn't going to feel good for a long time and he knew this. But he also knew that she was already attempting to heal, him being so close to her was proof.

She kissed his cheek lightly and sat up in her bed when she glanced down at the clothes she was wearing. The memories clouded her mind and she closed her eyes shut.

"Rukia, what is it?" He asked alarmingly. "I, I just need to change out of these clothes." She said standing up. In fact, she wanted to wash her whole body. "I think I'll see if I can head to the hot springs near by." Ichigo watched her carefully to make sure she could walk on her own.

"Hinamori and Matsumoto are here so see if they'll go with you." Ichigo said slowly getting up himself.

"I didn't know they were here too." Rukia said surprised. "You were asleep when everything was discussed; they're just here to help out some."

As soon as Rukia opened the door, her brother stood in the way. "Rukia, how are you feeling?" He asked flatly. She looked away and didn't say anything. Byakuya was a little too close…

Ichigo sensed her alarm and was by her side in an instant. He moved past Rukia and exited the room. "You wanted to talk to me right?" Ichigo asked. Byakuya glanced back at Rukia and nodded.

As the two passed, Hinamori and Matsumoto were coming out of their room. "Hey Rukia!" Hinamori said enthusiastically. Rukia smiled faintly. She really wanted Ichigo to stay with her. "Good morning." She replied.

"How do you feel?" Matsumoto asked. "Better I suppose." Rukia responded.

"Look, you don't have to stay with me. I appreciate it but I'm sure you have work to do." Rukia said feeling uneasy. Hinamori and Matsumoto grinned.

"Nah, don't worry about it. We both talked to our captains and they're fine with it." Rukia looked at Hinamori. "Unless you want us to leave Rukia. We totally understand." Hinamori finished. Rukia shook her head.

"No, I'm glad you two want to help out." Rukia paused.

"So Renji knows now?" Rukia asked quietly. Hinamori nodded. "Yah, but he's the only other person besides everyone who was there last night."

"He's a close friend to me, so it's fine. But really, I don't want this to get out ok?" She asked. The other two nodded. "I wanted to go to the hot springs today if you wanted to join me." It seemed rather soon for Rukia to be going somewhere like a hot spring, but they agreed none the less.

"Yah, that sounds really relaxing." Matsumoto said overdramatically. "Sure!" Hinamori beamed. Matsumoto and Hinamori were going to have to be extremely careful around Rukia.

As they changed and got ready to leave, Byakuya and Ichigo were in one of his personal studies room.

"Have a seat." Byakuya demanded. Ichigo sat and waited for Byakuya to say more. "I want to apologize for my outburst last night because I know you would never allow something like that to just, happen, but can you please explain the entire situation to me, I do not know much."

Ichigo was surprised. Byakuya was always one of the first people to know just about anything. "Yah sure, but it's not going to be easy for me to explain." Ichigo mumbled.

Even before Ichigo said a word he could feel the anger and hatred building up inside. "After I left for my first mission, Rukia was kidnapped that night. Two men threatened her saying that if she didn't do as they asked that they would kill me. After proving to her that it was possible, she had no choice but to do as they wanted."

Ichigo didn't need to say what it was they wanted by the look on Byakuya's face. "Please continue." He said.

"They also told her not to tell anyone due to the fact that they could kill me, so she didn't tell a single person for the next week and every night while I was gone they…" Ichigo couldn't finish the sentence once again but Byakuya understood.

"I immediately knew something was wrong and Matsumoto knew something wasn't right either. She soon received a letter from Rukia explaining the situation. It also turned out that the two men could watch Rukia and see what's she was doing so Rukia didn't try anything funny and tell someone. But, somehow Matsumoto found out without them knowing and we went and saved her."

A long silence followed. The previous night was now fresh on Ichigo's mind and he wanted nothing more than to hunt the men down.

"Oh, and another thing." Ichigo began. "You need to be careful around Rukia. She might be sort of afraid of men for a long time so you need to keep a good distance from her and watch what you say. Rukia seems ok around me but I could already tell this morning that you were too close to her. It's nothing personal, she's just gone through something horrible."

Byakuya nodded in agreement. He too felt great anger towards these two horrible men. "Do you have any idea of what they're names were?" Byakuya asked.

Ichigo thought for a minute. "Well in the letter that Rukia gave Matsumoto, there was a mention of the names um, I think they were Ryo and Hiraki, or Hiraku." Byakuya eyes widened momentarily.

"Did you see what they looked like?" He asked in a more interested tone. "They looked pretty much alike except for their hair color. One had light hair while the other had dark."

"That is very interesting." Byakuya murmured. Ichigo looked at him curiously. "Interesting?" Ichigo asked.

"Those names sound vaguely familiar but I can't remember from where or when." He said quietly to himself.

"Well you can leave now if you want." Byakuya said shooing Ichigo out of the room.

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**A/N:** Ok, so this chapter and last chapter were extremely tough to write so I really hope everyone liked them! And sorry if anything seems rushed, but I know you guys (and me too) were dying for Ichigo to come! Like I said, this story is probably only half way through. Ryou and Hiraku are still on the loose and aren't going to let Rukia get away that easily. So please review and tell me your thoughts! Oh and for Ichigo already kissing Rukia, I know it probably doesnt make sense for her to be wanting that, but she just missed him is all I can really say.


	10. Understanding the Changes

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

Ok, so now Rukia is safe with Ichigo, or is she? Ryou and Hiraku are still out there and they are determined to get her back.

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.10 Understanding the Changes

Rukia slowly slipped into the hot waters and immediately felt relaxed. "How is the water?" Hinamori shouted from another hot spring. "It's great!" Matsumoto yelled.

"Not you! Rukia, how is it?" She asked more softly. "It's good." Rukia shouted back. They each had their own little hot spring because they figured Rukia would want a bit of privacy.

An instant later, there was some shuffling and grunting across from Rukia and Hinamori emerged before her. "There, now I can talk to you without yelling! Unless you don't want to talk."

Rukia smiled. "No it's fine." Hinamori was laying her arms on the rocks that separated the different pools of water. Matsumoto did the same with hers.

"Now really Rukia, how do you feel? You can't just say ok or good. We're here to talk to you and help you out so please don't feel you have to lie to us." Hinamori said sympathetically. Rukia knew she could trust them so she spoke.

"Really and honestly, I do feel good at the moment. I was really worried that I wouldn't want Ichigo around me once he found out everything, but I ended up only wanting him more." Both Hinamori and Matsumoto awed together.

"That's so cute Rukia! Ichigo really does love you so much!" Matsumoto said placing her hand on her chin. They were both amazed at how Rukia was reacting to everything.

"I have a question." Rukia said softly. Hinamori and Matsumoto urged her on.

"Well, you know I both sent out letters to you and they somehow missed the one I gave to Matsumoto, so, I was just wondering how Ichigo found out exactly and everything."

It was a brave question for Rukia to ask, but she wanted to know. She wanted to understand the anger Ichigo felt and how he acted.

They both paused. "Well I was the one that saw everything so I'll explain it." Matsumoto began.

"After receiving your letter and reading it I immediately left for the human world. My captain had just left several hours before so I knew they couldn't have gotten far into their investigation. When I found them at the building I told Ichigo to read the letter."

Matsumoto paused to look at Rukia. After Rukia nodded she continued.

"Ichigo's anger was like none I had ever seen. You've seen Ichigo get angry and he usually yells and screams, but this time Ichigo was quiet. I don't think he's ever been so angry. He didn't know what to do at first and after a long silence he dashed out of the building with out saying a word."

Matsumoto scratched her head and continued. "After we realized he returned to Soul Society, we followed after him. His reiatsu was blaring so it was pretty easy to find him. When we reached him he was at a deserted building and that's when we realized he had found you. You know the rest of the story."

Listening to the story was painful to hear but she was glad she knew. Asking Ichigo might have been too hard on him. Rukia knew Ichigo wanted them dead and she didn't want him being angry around her.

If Ichigo could stay calm around her then she would be alright too.

"I'm still afraid because I know they're still out there. Well, I think I'm ready to go inside." Rukia said softly to the other two. They made their way out of the hot springs with their robes on.

In one sickening moment Rukia's eyes widened in horror.

"They're, they're watching me…" She whispered just loud enough for the other two to hear.

"Rukia? What is it?" Hinamori asked worriedly. Rukia sank to the ground and wrapped her arms tightly around her body. "They saw me, with nothing on, they saw me…" Rukia whispered louder.

"Rukia, it's ok, they won't get you." Matsumoto said as she approached the shaking girl.

"Don't touch me." Rukia replied coldly. "Rukia its ok—"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She screamed. She pushed back from the two. Tears poured down her light cheeks as she held her hands out in defense.

"Ichigo, I want Ichigo." She whispered again. "Ichigo, ICHIGO!!" Rukia screamed as loudly as she could.

"Calm down Rukia, we'll go get him! Hinamori stay here while I go find him." But Matsumoto didn't have to travel anywhere as Ichigo arrived on full alert.

Rukia tried to stand and run to him but began to fall. Ichigo caught her at the nick of time. "Don't let them get me, please." She cried into his shoulder pulling on his robes tightly.

"They won't Rukia, they won't." Ichigo whispered back. His arms were wrapped around her securely as he tightened his grip around her. Hinamori felt a few tears on her own cheeks as she watched the two holding each other.

Ichigo slowly pulled her up but she immediately began to wince in pain. "What is it Rukia? What hurts?" He asked softly.

"I, my…" Rukia couldn't finish the sentence but the three new what she was talking about. Unohana had explained that Rukia would feel surges of pain and that they would eventually go away in the next week or so.

Ichigo gently lifted Rukia into his arms and walked past Hinamori and Matsumoto with out saying a word.

"He must be so angry." She thought. Hinamori knew that if something like this happened to her, Hitsugaya would react in the same way.

Once they were gone, Hinamori spoke. "I can't imagine how Ichigo feels about everything. I mean, did you see the look on his face when he first walked in? He didn't even realize we were here."

"His wife has been abused in a horrible way. It continued for a week and she did it to protect him. It only makes sense that Ichigo wants to get revenge. If he didn't I might be angry at him myself."

"I just hope that Rukia can get better soon." Hinamori mumbled. After a long silence Matsumoto grinned.

"So when do you think you'll be getting a husband?" Matsumoto asked teasingly as she tried to lighten the mood.

Hinamori snapped out of her gaze and giggled lightly. "I really don't know anymore, but hopefully soon now since this last mission is over and done with."

She all of the sudden missed him and wanted to be with him. All of this sadness with Rukia and Ichigo made her love-sick.

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Ichigo set Rukia down on the futon and she slowly slid under the blankets. "Do you want me to stay?" He asked softly. Rukia nodded. Ichigo thought surely she would fall asleep but was surprised when she began to speak.

"Ichigo, I need to tell you something that I forgot to mention." Rukia said as she sat on their futon.

"What is it?" He asked as he searched the room for his shirt. "I can't believe I forgot something so important. Well, the night you s-saved me, the two men asked me to do something different."

Ichigo stopped what he was doing and now had his full attention on Rukia. "What do you mean by different?" He asked angrily. Rukia hated seeing his anger but she knew he couldn't help it.

"Well, they wanted me to deliver some sort of letter to my brother, and they told me not to read the contents."

Ichigo's hands clenched in his lap. "I don't understand any of it. First they take advantage of you, and then they start asking you to do run little errands for them? Those bastards. I swear, when I find them I'm gonna—"

"Ichigo" Rukia said looking at him. He knew what she wanted and he stopped. "Sorry" He muttered.

"I need you to tell Ni-sama this. Didn't you say he remembered their names?" Ichigo nodded. Maybe this information would help.

"You know Ichigo, they're probably still watching me because we only got the cards from them. I know they disappeared but they probably came back to get that glass ball."

Ichigo sat up against the wall and watched as Rukia curved her body up into a tight ball. "When I went to the hot springs I didn't realize it and slipped into the water, they probably saw me naked…"

She shut her eyes closed and tried to once again rid them of her mind. "Just about anything gets me to think of them and I'm so sick of it." She whispered.

"I don't want to remember what they did, I don't want to remember their touch." As Ichigo scooted over to the futon, Rukia threw the blanket open letting him in.

When he crawled under the blanket and moved closer to Rukia, he faced her. "It's not going to be easy Rukia, and you won't forget what they've done, and neither will I. You're going to probably feel this way for a long time, but as they year goes by, you'll think about it less and less and you'll finally be able to move on when the time is right."

"But they're still out there just waiting for the right moment…" Ichigo cut her off.

"And if and when they do come, I'll be ready to fight them. They won't get near you Rukia, I won't let them. " Ichigo said determined.

"I won't leave your side Rukia, I promise." His hand intertwined with Rukia's as they stared at each other. "You're right Ichigo, I know you'll be there."

She moved her head in and pecked his lips with hers. "Why don't you go to sleep now. I'm sure you need a lot of rest." And the moment those words escaped his lips Rukia closed her eyes slowly and let sleep consume her mind.

Ichigo was greatly relieved that Rukia wasn't afraid of him. When Unohana had explained that she might push him away, it hurt him more than anything. He understood that Rukia wouldn't be meaning to be that way, but knowing that Rukia would be experiencing such thoughts scared him.

But Rukia wasn't afraid of him, she even kissed him quite deeply the night before. He understood that Rukia trusted him with all her heart and that he was the one person she could get close to.

Whenever Byakuya, her own brother, had stood in front of her that morning, he could see the blank and afraid look on her face, so he knew that she would be bothered by others.

Rukia had screamed and pushed away Matsumoto and Hinamori, who he needed to apologize to. He knew he probably looked angry at them, and he was, he was furious, but at two different people. Two monsters, demons, who decided to hurt and break his wife.

How could someone do something so vile? To him, Rukia was the only person he ever wanted to touch like that, anyone else would be wrong, and now the intimate moments they shared together would be closed off for a long time.

"It might even be years, but I can never push her to do that if she doesn't want to. It's one thing to kiss her but getting into that is something much deeper." He thought to himself.

"_And then t-tonight before y-you came, they k-kissed me and I tried my h-hardest to imagine it w-was y-you." _

Those words that Rukia had spoken last night passed through his mind. Why did it bother him so much more to know they kissed her? He really didn't understand. "Rukia was raped, and here I am worrying about kissing." He said to himself.

Images he had been dreading crossed through his mind. Painful images of Rukia screaming out his name as those two men touched her, _his_ wife, Rukia.

His hold on Rukia's hand tightened and he reached down to kiss her small hand. He knew that even as the horrible images he hated passed through his mind, the pain Rukia experienced was probably far worse than anything he could ever imagine.

As he watched Rukia sleep he could once again see the pained expression on her face. "I bet she's having a nightmare." He whispered. Ichigo moved from her hand to her face and lightly kissed her forehead.

"It's ok Rukia, we'll get through this, we'll move on." He whispered. Ichigo understood more and more that it would probably take a very long time for Rukia to heal, even if she didn't appear to be upset all the time.

"I just need to understand that things are going to be different." He said before he himself drifted to sleep.

The next few days passed slowly and Rukia usually stayed in her room and rested. If Ichigo couldn't stay in the room with her than Matsumoto or Hinamori would.

Rukia had been afraid that Hinamori and Matsumoto wouldn't want to help out with her ever since she screamed at the two, but they both smiled at her and told her they wouldn't leave unless she wanted it. Rukia felt joy because of this and she hoped she wouldn't yell at the again.

She had several outbursts each day and they weren't getting any better. The smallest thing could trigger anything.

If any other man besides Ichigo walked into the same room as Rukia she would immediately feel fear.

Rukia overheard Hinamori talking about her wedding and the honeymoon and she got upset. "I'm so sorry Rukia!" Hinamori cried. Rukia just nodded. For some reason hearing about a wedding just sounded too happy.

"I won't talk about it anymore I promise." Hinamori said kindly. Rukia only began to hate herself. It wasn't Hinamori's fault that she was getting married, but Rukia just couldn't stand to hear about it.

"Do you want to get some lunch?" He asked softly as Rukia remembered where she was. "Yah, I am a bit hungry. Can I go downstairs? I've been in this room for a while." Ichigo nodded. His wife hadn't gotten upset about anything today.

Every morning Ichigo hoped and prayed that the day would be better than the previous one, that Rukia would laugh again and smile but it was never the case. Rukia wasn't going to heal in a long time and he needed to accept it.

When they reached downstairs they heard some shouting. "Rukia is my best friend! I should be able to see her!" A familiar voice shouted. "Stay out here ok Rukia?" Ichigo asked. Seeing the strained look on his face told her she better listen.

So Rukia stood out in the hall as Ichigo entered inside the kitchen. Just as Ichigo had suspected, Renji was arguing with Hinamori and Matsumoto.

"Ichigo, please tell them that I should be allowed to see Rukia." He muttered aggravated. "Look Renji, there's a lot of stuff you still don't know about and I think we should talk about it."

Renji looked surprised. "What's so wrong with seeing my friend? I know what happened and I want to talk to her!" Out of no where Rukia stumbled into the kitchen.

Ichigo wanted to ask why she came inside but then he realized and he felt like a complete idiot. He left her in the hallway all by herself. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want to be alone." She whispered.

"It's alright Rukia. I shouldn't have left you out there." Ichigo said kindly as he stepped over to her. Renji was oddly quiet.

"What's wrong with being in the hallway alone?" He finally asked. Ichigo stood protectively in front of Rukia.

"Renji, you don't understand—"

"Understand WHAT? I know that Rukia's been raped and I want to kill the bastards that did it! Why aren't you doing anything about it Ichigo?"

Right before Ichigo went to scream back he felt a hand tug on his robes. "No Ichigo, don't." She whispered. "Renji," Rukia began, "It's hard for me to talk to anybody, but especially men. I can't even look at my own brother."

Rukia stepped in front of Ichigo. "I know it sounds strange, but it's just going to take some time for me to get used to others. The only guy I can really be around is Ichigo."

Renji still looked extremely angry. "I've known you much longer than Ichigo and you know I would never do something like that."

"Renji stop." Matsumoto said a little too softly. "Well how do you know for sure Rukia? I mean look at me, I'm pretty far away from you."

He took a step closer to Rukia. "Renji I think you should leave." Ichigo warned but Renji only walked closer.

"Stay out of this Ichigo. I want to see for myself." The fear in Rukia's face gave her answer away but Renji ignored it.

"No Renji." Rukia stated as she moved behind Ichigo but he still didn't stop. "Move Ichigo." Renji said. He was standing right in front of Ichigo.

"No, I won't Renji. Rukia doesn't want you near her." Renji began pushing against Ichigo. "Just let me talk to her!" Renji yelled. "You can't! Stop!"

With one sudden movement Renji ripped passed a stumbling Ichigo and pushed Rukia to the wall. Both of his arms were pressed against the wall around her.

"Renji! Let go! Please!" She cried. "I would never hurt you so why are you afraid!"

"YOU'RE HURTING HER RIGHT NOW!" Ichigo screamed. The room fell silent and Renji's hands pulled away from Rukia.

Ichigo was at her side in an instant. She turned to face Ichigo and pulled her arms into his chest. He moved his hands lightly to her shoulders.

"Go over to them ok Rukia?" Ichigo asked softly. She nodded her head and sat close to Matsumoto and Hinamori.

"We need to talk Renji." Ichigo said calmly. Renji didn't feel like arguing any further and followed him out the room.

"What's the big deal Ichigo? Why does she hate seeing me so much?" Renji asked.

"It's not you Renji, it's not anyone."

"I don't understand." Ichigo sighed.

"She's been this way the past couple of days. Anything can make her upset and if we want to avoid that, then we have to make sure she's around people she feels comfortable with, no matter who the person is."

"I thought surely she would feel ok around me." Renji mumbled.

"Renji, you know that Rukia cares about you and she knows you would never hurt her, but think about what she just went through. Rukia has been raped by two men and when something so horrible like that happens she isn't just going to walk away with a smile on her face."

"It's just hard. She's gone through many terrible things in her life and she's always kept her head high, but I've never seen such terror on her face." Renji mumbled softly.

"I know Renji, and it's going to be hard on all of us. I mean, the first night we brought her back she cried so much. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to witness in my entire life. She's been traumatized and it's not going to heal for a long time. The only way for her to overcome this is to have comfort. When Unohana first told me Rukia might push me away it hurt, but I knew that it was the only way to help her get better. That's the same for you, friend or not."

Renji nodded. "Well I guess I'll be leaving now. Tell Rukia I didn't mean anything of it." Ichigo smiled. "I will, though I'm sure she knows."

After they said their goodbyes, Renji left. He walked back into the kitchen to see the three of them sitting there in silence. "Is everything ok?" Rukia asked softly.

"Yah Rukia, don't worry about it." They were already eating lunch so Ichigo joined them.

Later that day Ichigo told Byakuya the information Rukia had given him. "They wanted her to send me some sort of message?" Byakuya asked. Curiosity of what the message could possibly speak of illuminated off of his ice cold face.

"That's what Rukia said. You still can't remember them?" Ichigo asked. Byakuya looked to be struggling with himself.

"No, I can't. If you will please leave I have some things to do." Byakuya demanded. Ichigo walked out of the room just glad to be away from Byakuya.

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"Hiraku brother, when are we going to make our move?" Ryou asked. They were both very far away from Ichigo and everyone, but they weren't finished with their business.

"We need to wait a while. You know, when they would least expect it. They know we're still out here but they'll slowly start worrying about it less and less and that's when we will strike."

"It's a pity about your cards Hiraku," Ryou began. "You could have maybe killed one of them before we disappeared."

They both laughed. "If only our little Rukia knew that we were bluffing the whole time." Hiraku hissed.

"But how was she to know the cards could only kill humans and after seeing her husband get hurt it only made her believe more." Ryou said.

"The cards can cause pain to a shinigami or spirit, but it can't kill them. Oh well, Rukia had no idea."

"And she won't have any idea when all of this happens again." The two laughed again and continued to watch Rukia's every move in their glass ball.

"We'll get her and her husband." They both murmured.

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**A/N:** Aww! Ichigo is such a good husband! And I know he probably seems extremely sensitive, but you must understand how he is feeling for his wife. He does love her after all!! I really hoped everyone enjoyed this chapter. I wanted you guys to see how Rukia is slowly starting to react to everything. It's now that everything is going to sink in even more because Rukia can tell people. And Ryou and Hiraku were BLUFFING! Uggh! Poor Rukia!! And why does Byakuya recognize their names? That is a very important clue to the rest of the story! (Just to let you know!!)

So please review and tell me how you all feel about everything! I really want to know!


	11. Life Goes On

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

OoOoO!! Chapter 11!! Ryou and Hiraku are still out there! Will they make a move or are they waiting for the right moment?

Read and Find out!!!!

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.11 Life Goes On

"Why had the men asked Rukia to give him a message? What could the message possibly have said? Why were they blackmailing her in such a horrible way?" Ichigo really wanted to figure out what they wanted.

A little after Rukia finished eating she returned to her room again.

"I told Byakuya about them wanting you to give him that message or whatever, but he still couldn't remember much." Ichigo said. Rukia didn't seem to hear him.

"You ok?" He asked. She snapped out of her gaze and looked at him. "I'm still a little tired but I don't feel as sore."

"Unohana said it would be a good week before the pains started to go away." Rukia nodded and curled her arms around her legs. "I know this is hard for you Ichigo and I'm sorry."

He hated when she said things like this. "Rukia, I've told you a thousand times it's not your fault ok?" He said softly. Ichigo thought for sure that she would cry, but she instead pulled herself under the blankets.

"You're going to have to go to your division eventually." She mumbled. Ichigo moved closer to her. "Yamamoto knows the situation so he should be pretty lenient about this for a while."

Rukia sighed. "Great, now Yamamoto knows." She muttered. "Rukia, he had to know. Those men are still out there and are obviously a threat. If he didn't know then I wouldn't be able to stay here with you right now."

"You can't stay with me for that long. I don't know how long it will be before I can be around people. I know I'll heal, but I don't know how long it will take." Rukia muttered. Ichigo rubbed his head.

"I told you we'll figure it out ok?" He whispered to her. Ichigo couldn't stand seeing her like this. He wanted his wife back.

And just as the day ended another began. Months passed and Rukia slowly began to speak more and even smile more.

Hiraku and Ryou were still out on the loose and everyone knew that they're business wasn't done, but Ichigo would be ready for when they attacked.

"Oh Rukia, please come in here." Unohana said kindly. Rukia, followed by Ichigo, walked into the small room.

"Wow, it has been three months and I must say that you look well Rukia." Unohana said.

After Ichigo left the room so Unohana could talk to Rukia, she began her rant of questions.

"How do you feel physically Rukia?" Unohana asked. "I haven't had any pains in the last month or so."

Unohana nodded. "That's good. You appear alright. So how are things with your husband?"

Rukia looked a little uneasy. "He's had to go to work more, and it's hard for him to be away, but everything is getting better. I still have Matsumoto and Hinamori to help when he can't."

Unohana nodded again. "Are you still afraid of other men?" Rukia nodded her head slowly. "It's easier now though, I mean, I can talk to my brother now and even Renji."

"Well Rukia, I need to talk to your husband now. One of the nurses is out there waiting for you, unless you would rather be alone."

"No, that's fine." Rukia was healing and Unohana claimed at a fast rate, but she still didn't like being alone. After Rukia slipped out of the doorway Ichigo emerged.

"Alright Ichigo, I just need to ask you some questions." Ichigo took a seat and waited for Unohana to speak.

"Has Rukia felt any strange pains in the past month?" "No."

"How has she acted around you?"

"She seems more lively and active than ever before around me, but she's still quiet around other men."

"I've decided to ask this because it's been long enough. How are you two sexually?"

Ichigo knew she had to ask it, but he still didn't like the question. "No, we haven't had any sort of contact." He said quickly. Ichigo and Rukia kissed but that was as far as it went.

He felt like a twelve year old answering the question, but it was the truth. Luckily for him Unohana didn't give him any strange looks or anything.

"Ok, well you two are free to go. I'll see you in about a month or so."

Ichigo saw Rukia sitting on a chair quietly. "You ready to go?" He asked. She smiled faintly. "Yah, let's go."

They walked out of the office hand in hand. The past few months had been hard on the two, but things were slowly getting better.

Ichigo and Rukia both stayed with her brother still for safety reasons. Hinamori and Matusmoto only came to stay with Rukia when Ichigo had to leave.

People from Rukia's division were all curious as to why Rukia had been gone. Most thought she was pregnant.

Sadly rumors spread all around and some were even negative. Ichigo was on his way home when he heard two women talking.

"Well I heard Rukia cheated on her husband." One shinigami was saying.

"Oh really? Well I heard it was the other way around, Ichigo cheated on her." Another said.

He was sick of hearing these thoughts about the two. It was no one else's business. The two women looked up just in time to see Ichigo walking by and glared at them.

They both stared at him silently as he passed. "Why did these rumors spread in the first place? Just because Rukia's been gone for a little while." Ok, maybe three months wasn't a little while but still.

He got the vibe that someone was behind the rumors and he had a feeling on who it was. "Those two bastards Ryou and Hiraku. I bet they had something to do with this."

Just knowing that the two were still out there frightened him. Ichigo only went to his division a few times during the week because staying away from Rukia any longer might give him a heart attack.

"Things will get better." He kept saying to himself as he passed another group of people who became strangely quiet as he walked by.

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"You may now kiss the bride." The preacher spoke. Hinamori and Hitsugaya pulled in and kissed each other. People in the crowd stood up clapped as the two made their way down the aisle and out of the chapel.

In the very back row sat two people. One was clapping and smiling while the other, the shorter of the two, kept her hands clasped in her lap.

Once the bride and groom exited the building everyone stood up and chatted amongst one another.

"That was a lot like our wedding huh Rukia?" Ichigo asked helping his wife stand up. "Yah, it was in a way. Except I tripped on my dress and knocked you over as we walked down the aisle." Ichigo grinned.

"I still remember the shock on Byakuya's face. He still claims it was my fault that you fell." Rukia rolled her eyes. "Seeing as you were next to me I wouldn't be surprised if you had been the cause of it."

Ichigo couldn't help the small laugh that escaped his mouth. Rukia actually sounded happy and not concerned with anything.

It had been a little over a year since everything happened. Rukia still needed to make a few adjustments, but she was much better now. Every once in a while she would worry about them, the two who tortured her, and felt the need to always be on alert, but as the time passed, she let the horrible images sink deep into her mind so that she would not see them so easily.

She could go to her division now, but for a much shorter time than before and always had to be around more than two people with the majority being females.

Her captain knew what happened and felt great sympathy for her and as far as the rumors went, they dropped like a fly when Rukia returned to her post.

The rumor that Rukia was pregnant quickly evaporated when after returning six months to the division her stomach was completely flat. The statements about Ichigo and Rukia cheating on each other vanished as well. Several people spotted the two together and it was quite obvious by the way they acted that the two weren't going to split up any time soon.

Because people were for some reason intimidated by Rukia in her division, no one dared to simply ask Rukia why she had vanished. A few of the younger ones brought it up and Rukia simply gave them a short answer. "I've just been extremely busy."

Everyone from the wedding walked to the room where the reception was. Rukia stayed close to Ichigo the entire time. At the moment Rukia felt joy.

The atmosphere of the wedding was relaxing and inviting. Even Ichigo looked to be content. "Oi Rukia!" Matsumoto shouted.

"I can't believe they finally got married!" She cried. Rukia smiled. "They were supposed to be married a year ago." Rukia replied. Matsumoto had an uneasy look on her face for a second, but when she saw that Rukia still looked normal she laughed and smiled.

The busty woman couldn't help the uncomfortable feeling. It had also been a year ago that Rukia had gone through everything.

Matsumoto waved goodbye to them and went to talk to other people. "Do you want something to eat?" Ichigo asked. Rukia shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe later."

Ichigo sighed. "Rukia, you haven't been eating very much lately, are you ok?" He asked. Rukia rolled her eyes. "I'm fine Ichigo really. I just haven't been all that hungry lately."

If Rukia acted odd in the slightest Ichigo would end up questioning her about it. "Ok, well I'm hungry. I'll be right back ok?" Rukia nodded and Ichigo left her side from the table.

She looked at all the people in the room. There were probably at least a hundred. Captains and vice captains, herself included, and friends. Some of the people there Rukia had never seen in her entire life. She assumed they were subordinates of Hinamori of Hitsugaya.

In that instant Rukia froze as she recognized a face in the crowd that stared back at her. She turned her body away quickly and dropped her head. "It couldn't be…" But she knew that it was a possibility.

When Rukia looked back in the crowd again the face was gone. "Did I really just see one of them? I could have just been imagining things…"

Rukia nearly jumped when Ichigo came back to her with a plate full of food. "I got extra food in case you get hungry—Rukia?" He asked concerned.

She snapped out of her gaze. "What is it? What's wrong?" After finding her voice she told him.

"I-I think I just saw Ryou, or Hiraku. They were looking at me." Ichigo searched the crowd thoroughly.

"Rukia, it's impossible for them to be in here. There are too many people here that know about them so don't worry about it. You probably just imagined it." Rukia nodded her head. Ichigo was probably right.

"I know. It just really scared me." She whispered. Ichigo picked up her trembling hand. "Even if they were here Rukia, they wouldn't get you." He whispered back. Everyone around them seemed to disappear as the two gazed at each other.

He kissed her lightly on the lips and turned back to the food. "I got extra food if you want some." She smiled weakly at her husband's attempt to get her to eat.

"Fine Ichigo, I'll eat something." When she turned back to the food there was a rectangular box sitting in front of the plate.

She turned to look at Ichigo who had a rare smile on his face. "Happy eighth anniversary." He mumbled. Rukia's eyes widened with surprise.

"Ichigo, I'm, well, honestly, I didn't remember. I'm sorry." He chuckled. "Open your gift."

After looking at him with her guilty stare she finally turned once again to the small box. Inside was a white and silver bracelet. "It sort of reminded me of your zanpaktou and you know, zanpaktous sort of reflect a person, so I thought you would like it."

It felt strange for Ichigo to remember their anniversary and as she went through the days in her mind, she came to the conclusion that Ichigo was right. "Ichigo, there is no excuse for me forgetting this." Rukia always found anniversaries fascinating in the human world.

Apparently they weren't a big hit in Soul Society so Rukia made it a big deal. "I'm so sorry." She whispered. "Rukia, it's ok. I almost forgot myself but I knew that I couldn't forget this one. Don't worry about it."

Rukia was silent after that. "If you don't like it I can return it." He whispered. "No Ichigo, no! I really like it! There is something about it that reminds me of my zanpaktou." After Ichigo slipped the bracelet onto her wrist she smiled.

How could she have forgotten? "Rukia, don't feel guilty about it. I wanted to do this for you."

"It really is beautiful Ichigo, thank you." Rukia said softly. She wanted to kiss him but there were too many people around the table at the moment. Ichigo and Rukia rarely showed public affection after all.

After saying goodbye to a vivacious Hinamori and a tired Hitsugaya, Ichigo and Rukia left to their house.

"Why aren't we going to Ni-sama's?" Rukia asked. Ichigo just smiled. "I wanted to talk to you, unless you want to go back to his house." Rukia shook her head. They came to their house every once in a while to get away from everything.

An idea came into Rukia's mind and she wasn't sure it was going to work. "Come on Rukia, you can do this for him." She thought to herself.

After entering their home Ichigo and Rukia sat on a nearby couch. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Rukia asked. Ichigo placed his hands over his head.

"There is something I wanted to say to you, but I didn't want all those people around." Rukia sat up a little taller to listen.

"You know, it's been over a year since everything happened and I'm still pretty angry about it. Those men deserve to be severely punished." Ichigo paused and after seeing the sullen look on Rukia's face he continued on.

"But that's not the point. Rukia, I don't think you realize how much you have healed in just one year. I talked to Unohana about it, and she said it's rare for a victim to move on so quickly."

"It's not like it still doesn't hurt Ichigo." Rukia said. She was in no way or form brave in any sense. "It's going to hurt for a while Rukia, but even after a month of everything happening you made the attempt to move on. I never said this before but," He paused.

"I was really angry that you decided to go through all of that for my sake." Her eyes immediately widened. "I mean when I found out what happened I just couldn't believe it."

Ichigo smiled. "I mean, how could you go through something so horrible just for me? And then I realized I would have done the exact same for you if necessary."

"Why are you telling me all of this Ichigo?" She finally asked. Ichigo looked into her face and she saw his determined eyes.

"I've wanted to say this for a while now and before you get even more confused let me just say one last thing." He looked away for a moment but through his eyes back on Rukia's.

"I've missed you Rukia." He blurted out. The words seemed strange but Rukia knew exactly what he meant. "Ichigo" She said sympathetically.

"It probably sounds weird but it's true. You weren't yourself when everything happened and now I can finally see that you're returning."

Ichigo expected her to shed a few tears but she didn't. Did she not understand what he was trying to say? He was surprised when Rukia stood on her feet and took his hand.

Ichigo followed behind her as she started to walk up the stairs. "Rukia, what are you—"

"Just follow me." She nearly whispered. It was when they reached the bedroom that Ichigo started to get the idea.

"Rukia, I still think it's too soon for that." He whispered. She paused in front of him with her head down and her hand still in his. Her hand began to tremble and she pulled it away.

"We've never actually given it a try since everything, so I just though we could try you know, for our anniversary." She mumbled. Rukia thought her words sounded stupid but Ichigo didn't seem to notice.

He was afraid. If he caused a distance between him and his wife he wouldn't be able to handle it. "I don't want to hurt you." He whispered again as she turned to look at him.

"You won't Ichigo. If I say stop, stop ok?" She murmured back. Ichigo stared at her for a long time and finally gave a slight nod. Her lips fell on his a second later.

The whole time Ichigo still had doubt but Rukia made no movement to stop. She forced herself on him more and he gripped her unwillingly. "Ichigo, please" She cried softly. Seeing that Rukia wanted this, he gave in.

He responded by kissing her again. After starting to feel the sensation he started kissing her neck but not before making sure Rukia was still fine.

They were both sitting on the bed now facing each other. Ichigo didn't want to move to close to her. When Rukia pressed a hand onto his head he placed his hands on her waist.

He slowly pushed her down onto the bed and moved onto her. For a second Rukia looked around the room to see where she was and when she saw Ichigo's calming eyes she pushed his head down onto her lips.

Slowly she allowed Ichigo to touch her more and began to unravel out of her clothing. Ichigo did the same. It was when Ichigo began to kiss her shoulder that she felt it.

_Their_ hands all over her, _their_ sick moans and callings, _their_ rough and calloused hands on her skin, _their_ disgusting lips on hers. "Ichigo" She gasped out and he was off of her in a second.

Rukia pulled the blanket over her chest and sat up. "I'm sorry Rukia." He whispered. Her eyes widened at his words.

"Ichigo, no, it's ok, just give me a minute ok?" She asked. Ichigo watched as she took in deep breaths and closed her eyes. He felt extreme guilt at the moment. "I can't let my desires get in the way. I won't hurt her." Ichigo thought to himself.

"I always thought that the best way for me to heal was knowing it was you and not those men touching me. When everything happened I always tried my best to think of you."

"Look, we have our whole lives for this Rukia so it's not a big deal." Ichigo said softly.

She looked further down at the blanket. "But Ichigo, I miss you. I miss you so much." She cried. He placed a hand soothingly on her bare shoulder.

"I do too, but we can wait. We can try again some other time." Rukia thought of Hinamori and Hitsugaya and how they were on their honeymoon, innocent and happy.

"Let's just go to sleep then. We can stay here for the night." Ichigo said. Rukia didn't feel like arguing with him and moved down onto the pillow. Byakuya would figure out where they were eventually.

Once Ichigo was by her side she moved her head to his chest. Rukia really wanted him, but she was afraid. What if she shoved him away violently due to her fear? What if she hurt him? Rukia wouldn't be able to live with herself…

But Rukia knew that if she wanted to overcome this fear and be with him that she would have to step up. Ichigo had been by Rukia all this time and he had never once complained about anything. She knew that even if the two monsters floated around in her mind that nothing could beat him, Ichigo.

Should she give it a go again? She sat up slowly. "What is it?" He asked. Rukia couldn't help the smile that curved on her lips as she looked at him.

Rukia started to slowly again remove her robes and Ichigo's eyes widened slightly. "Can we try again?" She asked. Ichigo arched up onto his elbows. "You don't have to prove anything." He whispered.

A tear fell down her cheek. "I know I don't Ichigo, that's why I want to do this." Before he could say anything else she kissed him deeply, putting all of her emotion and passion into it.

Ichigo kissed her back just as intensely. He wanted her to understand just how much he truly missed her. Rukia sunk down into the bed as Ichigo leaned over her. She let out a small chuckle as Ichigo kissed her neck. Every once in a while she would whisper out his name and see him smile between each kiss.

This time she didn't let any thoughts get in her way and let Ichigo consume her mind and body. As his hand held one of hers tightly, he squeezed it. He stopped kissing her briefly and looked into her face.

Her deep blue eyes held hope and happiness even as tears came down. She brought her free hand up to caress his cheek. Each second seemed crucial for the two as the night steamed along. No words could describe the comfort the two felt.

All of their problems evaporated as they held one another. Each kiss meant something different. Each touch brought on new challenges. But just as the sun set, the moon rose bringing a different sort of glow.

Life would go on and even as enemies still lingered on the outskirts of everything, they didn't care.

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**A/N:** I know this chapter doesn't have to do a lot with the plot but I wanted some more in between time and sorry if it skipped around too much. Ok guys, so I'm feeling kind of sad right now…

I was getting like a lot of reviews for a lot of chapters and then they dropped like dead flies… Does my story all of the sudden suck or something? I know I sound like an idiot right now, but you really don't know how much your reviews help, even if they're just a "good job!" it really makes a difference. To those that have still reviewed, thank you, you ROCK, and to those that haven't, please REVIEW. It really doesn't take very long does it? Maybe 10-20 seconds, surely it wouldn't kill you. If there's something you don't like about my story I would rather you say it then not say a single word (even if it is harsh). So please, I know I'm rambling, but reviews mean a lot to me (and every other author…) I love you all!!


	12. That Forbidden Feeling

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

Alright yall!! It's Ch.12 and it finally starts getting back into the original plot! Oh, and thank you SO MUCH for all of the reviews! I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Someone last chapter said that Rukia wouldn't do something like hide what happened to her from people, and that's probably true. But, considering how it could kill a person she loves, Rukia would do anything to protect that person. She did try to protect Ichigo from Soul Society at the beginning of Bleach, and was ready to face her punishment. Rukia's tough like that. Anyways, I think if something like this ever did happen, Rukia would be upset about it, but would do whatever it took to protect the one she cares about.

Anyways, on with the chapter!

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.12 That Forbidden Feeling

"_Ichigo stop!" Rukia said chuckling. The only reaction Ichigo gave was grinning widely. "I have to go soon!" She whispered. Ichigo only pushed her further into the wall._

"_You have twenty minutes to get there. Nineteen of those minutes can be spent here." He whispered back as he started kissing her neck again. Rukia finally gave in and allowed his lips to caress her skin._

_His hand let go of hers and moved to her small back as he pushed his face to Rukia's. "Have you told your brother about the wedding yet?" Ichigo asked in between kisses. _

"_I was hoping you would be there with me to tell him." Rukia replied breathlessly. Ichigo pulled away as he sighed. "Don't you think that might make everything worse?"_

"_No, what would be worse is if you weren't with me. Ni-sama is going to want to see how serious you are about this if you want our marriage to happen." _

_Rukia had been with Ichigo for five years and he was still afraid of Byakuya's reaction to it all. "He knows about us Ichigo, and I'm sure he knows how important you are to me. After everything we've gone through I don't see how he couldn't. Ni-sama isn't a fool."_

_Ichigo still didn't look satisfied. "Ichigo, do you want to marry me?" She asked. He chuckled. "Yah, I do." She smiled back. "Then it will all work out got it?" Ichigo nodded and moved back towards Rukia's lips._

_They rarely had these moments now-a-days. Ichigo was a captain and Rukia was a vice captain. For some reason they loved hiding from everyone. They loved how it all felt forbidden._

_Rukia wrapped her arms around his shoulders as Ichigo's hand pushed onto her thigh. "Rukia" He whispered into her ear. Twenty years ago she would have never imagined feeling this way about Ichigo and she was glad she did now._

"_Ichigo" She whispered back. Every time Ichigo kissed her she only desired him more. They could fight, argue, and hide all they wanted, but by the end of the day all that mattered was getting to see one another like they did now, even if it was for twenty, or nineteen, minutes._

Rukia slowly woke up and realized where she was. She was lying in her bed at her house. Images passed through her mind and she smiled.

After a long year of keeping a distance they didn't want, Ichigo and Rukia finally found each other again. He was still sleeping next to her so she stayed close to him, thinking about the sweet memory she just dreamed about.

"That was right before we told Byakuya of our engagement. I was so afraid that he wouldn't accept Ichigo because he's not a noble." But Byakuya had agreed to their marriage and rather quickly. Of course he taunted Ichigo with annoying and pointless questions, but in the end he gave in.

"That was over eight years ago." She would never forget the first time Ichigo showed his feelings for her. They had been arguing about something pointless when out of the blue Ichigo kissed her. He instantly pulled away, but right before he said something else Rukia cut him off by attaching her lips to his again.

That was how their relationship had started. Neither of them said anything about their intimate moment until a month later when it happened again, only they kissed much longer. Deciding they had 'more than friends' sort of feelings for one another, they started to secretly see each other. Attraction grew to want, want grew to need, and need grew to love.

She remembered the surprise from everyone when they announced their marriage. Most people weren't surprised about the two being together, but it was the abruptness of the wedding that caused the shock. Rukia would never forget seeing the pain in Renji's face as he tried to look happy for her. She knew about his feelings for her, and Renji knew she would never return them.

Rukia thought of all their years together so far and felt happy. The only horrible year had been this last one when she was forced to do something no one could ever imagine. "And it's still not finished."

But would they attack again? Rukia's mind instantly replayed the face she saw during the wedding reception. Even if it had been over a year, she had the feeling the two men wouldn't just drop and forget about everything.

She squeezed her arms around her body as she felt disgusting. "They probably watched us last night." She thought sickeningly. Rukia wasn't going to say anything to Ichigo though. She didn't want to worry him after their wonderful night.

A groan was heard next to her followed by some shuffles. "You're up already?" He asked groggily. "Its 11 o'clock, we should get up." Rukia said smiling.

"I don't have to go to my division today so who cares." He mumbled. Rukia rolled her eyes and grabbed her clothes as she realized she was still naked.

Ichigo didn't watch as she changed. There were still things that could scare Rukia and staring was one of them, depending on when.

"Come on, I bet you're still tired." Ichigo said pleadingly. Rukia wasn't tired, but snuggling next to her husband sounded wonderful.

She sighed and crawled next to him, ignoring his triumphant/tired smile. "How do you feel?" He asked. She knew what he was talking about.

"Fine, everything was fine." She replied back. "Oh, so it was fine huh? Not good or amazing, but just fine?" He asked annoyingly.

"Yah, it was fine." Rukia snickered. She missed these little ramblings they said to each other. "You sure are hard to please." He mumbled.

Rukia elbowed his arm and he smiled. She waited for him to call her short or midget, but he did nothing. When she glanced up at him he was looking at the ceiling.

"What?" She asked. He looked at her. "You haven't hit me like that in a long time. It felt good." Ichigo cooed. Rukia elbowed him again.

"How about that one?"

"Nope, that one really hurt." Ichigo squeezed out.

In a matter of seconds several things happened. First, their door busted open to reveal an angry looking Byakuya and concerned Matsumoto. Second, Rukia screamed and clutched to her husband as he pulled the blanket protectively over himself.

"Do you think it's smart to barge into a person's bedroom like that?" Ichigo shouted. The comment was more to Byakuya than anything who looked irritated to see the two so close together, even if the two had been married for eight years.

"Hurry and get up, this is important." Matsumoto said sternly. Ichigo was silent after that as he got dressed. They met Matsumoto and Byakuya downstairs after.

"So what's the problem?" Ichigo asked. Matsumoto's expression looked deadlier than ever. "There have been some attacks in the human world, just like last time."

Ichigo and Rukia knew what last time meant. "Ryou and Hiraku attacked? But how? We destroyed their source of killing." Ichigo muttered angrily.

"The way the humans died this time is the exact way of how Ryou and Hiraku killed." She replied back.

A painful silence fell into the room as the meaning started to take its role on them. The two monsters were back, and they weren't going to leave unless they were stopped.

"But why would they do that? Surely they aren't dumb enough to think I would go and investigate again." Ichigo said.

"Perhaps not, but I think they are trying to get our attention for something. We need to be more cautious than ever." Byakuya said coldly.

This whole time nobody paid attention to Rukia. Just the thought of the two being back brought great fear. "We can't just let them continue to kill innocent people!" Rukia shouted.

All eyes turned to her. "If we knew how to stop them we would be doing it." Byakuya replied.

"Don't you understand? When I was trying to protect Ichigo, innocent lives were taken in order for them to distract Ichigo and get me! They're doing this to upset me!" Rukia screamed. She had never been so forward with her words.

As much as he wanted to, Ichigo made no movement towards Rukia. He had the feeling that she would push him away if he moved close by. But that didn't mean he was angry. "When are they going to leave us alone?" He muttered furiously.

"I think it's time we started to search for them before they try to attack us." Matsumoto finally said. Byakuya and Ichigo nodded. "But where could we begin?" Ichigo turned to look at Byakuya.

"Have you remembered anything at all about them?" Ichigo asked. "No, I haven't." Byakuya replied shortly.

Rukia was now sitting on the couch with her hands on her head. "I think you should stay at my house tonight." Byakuya muttered. Ichigo knew Byakuya was aggravated that they didn't stay the night before, but he didn't care. Ichigo opened up a dormant part of Rukia that had been locked away for a long time. It had been worth the escape from Byakuya's home.

"Let's go then. Rukia?" Ichigo called as he walked to her. Rukia made no response as she slumped sadly on the couch. He sat next to her and moved close so he could talk quietly to her.

"I know its hard Rukia. We're going to stop this. All of it." He whispered softly to her. Rukia shook her head.

"They're dying because of me Ichigo, it's my fault!" She said loudly. He grabbed her hands.

"No Rukia, none of this is your fault. Got it? I don't want to hear any of this coming from you." He said forcefully. Rukia looked into his confident eyes and was silent after that.

"Ready to go then?" He asked softly. She nodded and they stood to leave. "Stay close and be on the lookout." Matsumoto commanded.

Ichigo doubted the two would make a move during broad daylight but still kept his guard up. Rukia moved slowly along side of everything. Would all the progress Rukia made vanish if she saw the two again? Would she close up again?

He shook himself of these thoughts. For now they needed to figure out a way to find the two. When they reached Byakuya's mansion Rukia's face looked even tenser.

"Ichigo, if they killed the humans with those strange cards they had then wouldn't they try to kill you or me?" She asked timidly. Rukia didn't like to really wonder on if Ichigo would live or die.

"I don't know Rukia. Maybe they have something else in mind." Those words stung Rukia. What more could they possibly do? And as one answer already poured into her mind she fought it away and fast. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Ichigo won't die." She said to herself.

The day passed by slowly as there was nothing to do at Byakuya's large home. A servant came into the room where Ichigo and Rukia were.

"Someone is here to see you sir." The servant humbly said. Ichigo already sensed the person coming to see him and he sighed.

"Kurosaki-taichou!" Haru shouted. Ichigo stood in the doorway staring at the younger kid. "What is it Haru?' Ichigo muttered.

He glanced in the room to see Rukia lying down and blushed. "Um, well, you're needed at the division. Yamamoto-taichou's orders." Ichigo scratched his head. If Yamamoto ever gave an order it was to see him or to go on a mission, not for him to go to his division.

"Are you sure Haru? Did you get the right message?" Haru nodded his head violently and nervously. "Look, this is the note his messenger gave me."

Ichigo read through the paper. "That's weird, alright, well you can go now." Haru bowed and stalked down the long hallway.

"Yamamoto wants you to go down to your division?" Rukia asked. "Yah, it's sort of weird for him to ask such a thing." Rukia nodded in agreement.

"Do you think it's some sort of trap?" She asked. "No, I don't think so. I read the note and the handwriting looked like Yamamoto's."

Rukia still looked suspicious. "Why don't you come with me then Rukia? That way you can stay with me." She looked surprised.

"But what if it is a trap, I mean, what if they think you would take me with you." Ichigo sighed.

"Like I said, I don't think there would be a trap. And plus, you'll be with me so nothing will happen. I haven't been following all of Yamamoto's orders, so it might be good if I actually do what he says this time." Ichigo said smirking.

"Alright I'll go with you." She said rising to her feet. They made their way downstairs when they were stopped by Byakuya.

"Where are you two going?" He asked emotionlessly. "I have to go to my division so Rukia is going to come with me." Byakuya stared at them for a moment and started walking away.

"Take Matsumoto with you." He said before disappearing. They both rolled their eyes and saw Matsumoto sitting on a couch.

"I'm coming." She said annoyed. Byakuya wasn't her captain so why was she taking orders from him?

After arriving at the third division, Ichigo sensed for anything unfamiliar. "Everything is fine now come on."

Rukia followed behind Matsumoto as they made there way into a large dojo. Unlike the thirteenth division that had most of the grounds outside, Ichigo's training area and meeting area were located inside.

Haru quickly approached his captain. After glancing at the two behind him he spoke. "Do you know what Yamamoto wanted me to do?" Ichigo asked as he looked around. The building was completely vacant.

"I think there's some paperwork he wanted done, and some subordinates are coming in a little while." Ichigo watched Haru's every move.

Something wasn't right.

"Why would Yamamoto want me to come here? Is he coming himself?" Ichigo asked a little louder. Haru shook nervously. "I don't know Kurosaki-taichou, honestly. That's what I would assume but I don't know."

A sharp pain hit Ichigo's shoulder and he fell to the ground wincing. "Ichigo!" Rukia called as she ran to his side. Matsumoto stood and looked around.

Something in the air immediately changed. Rukia could feel turmoil inside, and somehow knew what would happen next.

A familiar laughing was heard throughout the room and Rukia felt the urge to vomit. And then, like a kick in the stomach, the two emerged, though instead of covering their faces with cloaks they wore nothing to cover their heads.

Rukia could see their faces clearly now and she wished this was all a horrible nightmare. The one with the lighter colored hair had a deck of cards in his hands. She clutched onto one of Ichigo's arms as he slowly stood.

"How did you get those?" Ichigo demanded. They both chuckled as the man holding the cards spoke.

Rukia's hands were shaking violently and Ichigo held one to calm her down, though he knew it wouldn't help much. He couldn't believe the two were actually in front of him. The two men he wanted to torment.

"I made these cards once and I can make them again. The process takes about ten months." He hissed. Rukia shuddered. He would have to ignore the searing pain. Right now he needed to protect Rukia and somehow get those cards away…

"Rukia, you look pretty healthy." The other stated as his eyes loomed over her body. She stepped behind Ichigo further whose anger was already starting to blaze.

"Don't _look_ at her! Don't _talk _to her!" Ichigo shouted viciously. "You know Rukia," The man continued as he completely ignored Ichigo.

"It's now a year later and you're going to have to suffer all over again, though this time we might not be so kind to your dear husband." Rukia's grip on Ichigo's shoulder tightened as her eyes widened with fear.

"You're not going to _touch_ Rukia." Ichigo hissed. He pointed his large sword higher in the air. Rukia closed her eyes for just five seconds.

Her eyes snapped open and she gripped the hilt of her sword.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Rukia, if you attack us then we'll end Ichigo's life. It's simple as that." The other man said. Rukia saw their two swords hanging on their sides.

She had never imagined the two to be real shinigami, though proving they had swords didn't say much. But how strong were these two anyways? They had powerful enchantments so could their fighting skills be high too?

"Haru," Ichigo muttered as he continued to glare at these men he hated. "I need you to get Rukia out of here got it?" Haru slowly nodded.

"Ichigo I'm not leaving your side." Rukia said shakily. "Matsumoto I need you to stay and help me." Matsumoto nodded quickly with resolve. They couldn't let either of these men escape or they would chase after Rukia.

"No Ichigo! I won't go!" Rukia shouted. "I don't have time to argue with you. Don't worry about me ok? I'll be fine." Ichigo was surprised at how the calm the two men were being but decided to take advantage of the time.

"Ichigo—"

"RUKIA just do it PLEASE!" He screamed. Ichigo glanced and Rukia and wished he hadn't. Her face was wide with fear and tears began to fall.

"I'll be fine Rukia. I love you, now go!" He demanded. As Haru came and pulled her away she glanced at Ichigo for as long as she could.

The moment Rukia disappeared Ichigo attacked and the fight began.

"This way Kurosaki-san." Haru said calmly yet urgently. They were heading out a back exit. "I think it would be best if we went and told my brother. He can help Ichigo out." Haru only nodded as they continued to run.

They ran through some streets in Seireitei and several people looked strangely at them as they passed. "It doesn't look like they're following us." Rukia called out. Haru's hand was still holding onto to Rukia's tiny wrist.

When they reached a deserted spot on a street Haru stopped and pushed Rukia inside the room. "What are you doing?" She asked confused. "I-I think it would be better if you stayed here." He said nervously. Haru wouldn't look her in the eye.

Rukia figured Haru was nervous about the situation, but he was acting extremely strange for someone like him.

"Kurosaki-san, I'm sorry." And before Rukia could do anything, her world went black.

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**A/N:** Haha! Cliff hanger! So what did you think? I hope everyone liked this chapter! And if anyone can take a good and obvious hint, Haru isn't exactly a good guy!! Dum Dum Dum!! Next chapter is a lot about Rukia. I know people are probably wondering about Byakuya having to do with this and things will start to be revealed in the next few chapters (I haven't got much further than this chapter so I'm not exactly sure). I'm guessing there will be about eighteen chapters, but I don't know. And sorry if things seem rushed. I know it's been a year later (in the story) and now _they're_ back again and it's moving all sort of fast so I hope it sounds all good. I think Ichigo would do something stupid as say "just come with me Rukia, I'll protect you" because Ichigo's all macho and doesn't think things through clearly (I'm talking about when he takes her to his division and how Haru is all involved now).

Again, thanks for ALL the reviews, I got like 20!! I have NEVER gotten that many reviews so thank you thank you THANK YOU! I love you guys!! Ok, now, it would really mean a lot to me if I got the same amount of reviews as last time (or more whatever works). Seriously, you guys motivated me to write and add more to this chapter (even though it was short) please **REVIEW! **


	13. Overwhelming

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

Ok everyone, Ch.13!!! Yay!! And things are going to start getting more serious again, I told you before this story isn't close to being finished and you'll find out why in this chapter!!

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.13 Overwhelming

Ichigo jumped back as the man without the cards threw some sort of bomb at him. As soon as it evaporated Ichigo lunged at him. The man laughed and circled around him.

"You are rather slow." He taunted. Ichigo gripped his sword and blocked another dodge. Just as he had feared the men were good with their swords.

"You're going to have to do better than that." He continued to say softly. Ichigo heard a yelp of pain and watched as Matsumoto fell slowly to the ground. "Matsumoto!" Ichigo shouted.

He only stood there frozen waiting for one of the men to run, but they did nothing. Ichigo couldn't react in any way as a bomb was thrown at him. He quickly moved out of the way and was still surprised to see both of them standing there.

"Play time is over." They both said calmly. Ichigo's eyes widened. They were going after Rukia and he knew it. If he wanted to fight them both off then he would need to use bankai.

"But before we go," One of them began "We must inform you that there is a traitor amongst you." The other brother spoke after that.

"You made a fatal mistake when you let Rukia go, and that was your vice captain, Haru."

Every inch of Ichigo's body tinged with anger. "_What do you mean_?" Ichigo asked in a low and dangerous voice.

"I'm surprised you haven't realized I mean, you didn't think it was a coincidence that you were asked to go on all those missions? We had to have someone pulling the strings to where you were sent and Haru was the one to do it."

The lighter haired brother spoke. "Yes, and as you can tell Yamamoto was not the one to summon you here, but a fake letter written by Haru to get you here. And then, you let that very betrayer run with your wife where she is now in our grasp."

In one slick movement Ichigo called out an attack to hit both of them. As he waited for the cloud of dust to disappear he heard the two menacing laughs. "Oh Ichigo, you truly are an amusing man, but now we have other needs to attend to, the biggest, or littlest one being your beautiful wife Rukia."

Ichigo rushed his blade at them and fast but right before he reached them they vanished in a cloud of smoke just like the time before. There was only one thing he needed to do at that moment and as he ran out the door he ignored Matsumoto's shouting.

"Rukia" He whispered as he exited the back door. Ichigo tried to sense around for her reiatsu but couldn't feel it. Had Haru truly betrayed him?

And Ichigo continued to run blindly, hoping that Rukia would come out of no where and run to him. But as he ran and ran, her reiatsu was no where to be found.

Ichigo stopped and frantically looked around. No one was in sight. "Rukia, Rukia…" He kept repeating.

She was going to get hurt again. He had failed to protect her. He had promised her she would never see them again, that they would never touch her.

"_RUKIA!_" Ichigo screamed. What made everything worse was he had basically given her to the enemy. There was now a third person on his hit list. "I can't believe you Haru, but you're going to suffer when I get a hold of you." Ichigo growled.

It was as if he could hear her, Rukia screaming for him, but he couldn't reach her. She could be a hundred miles away for all he knew. That whole time he had been fighting the two Haru was taking her away, making her a slave again. Ichigo only hoped and prayed that Rukia would be safe.

For now, all he could do was walk around in a circle hoping that a plan of some sort would form in his now clammy mind.

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Her eyes burned as they pushed themselves opened. The view she could see was blurry at first, but as her eyes focused she was immediately unaware of where she was.

Rukia couldn't remember what happened for some reason and she wanted to know. "Haru? Where am I?" She asked. The boy was sitting on a nearby chair and his eyes were unfocused.

"I-I'm sorry Kurosaki-san." The words hit her like a ton of bricks. Rukia had gone with Ichigo to his division because Yamamoto asked him to. Ryou and Hiraku had showed up and Ichigo commanded Haru to take Rukia and leave.

Then she just remembered the words Haru just spoke. "Where am I?" She repeated and more sternly this time. His hands were trembling and he still wouldn't speak. What had he done?

It was when she heard the piercing voices of Ryou and Hiraku that Rukia fully understood. Haru had tricked Rukia into following him so he could take her himself.

"How could you do this?" She asked. Haru only shook more. "I-I had no choice!" Haru cried. Rukia was now furious. Her anger subsided as fear now overcame her emotions.

Hiraku and Ryou stepped in at that precise moment. "I must say Haru that we are thoroughly impressed." Thoughts consumed Rukia's mind and they were disgusting ones.

Rukia searched around the room hoping that maybe Ichigo was somehow there, but as his reiatsu could not be found, darkness inside of her.

"My Hiraku, you really picked out a lovely dress for Rukia." Ryou hissed. Not understanding what Ryou meant, she looked down at her clothing. She slowly touched the soft fabric of the dress she was wearing.

"We hope you like it. It was a bit hard to get on since you were unconscious, but seeing you again made it all the better." Rukia wanted to deny so badly what she was seeing. Everything was too overwhelming.

She wanted Ichigo. She needed him.

The part of Rukia that had been far away was threatening to come back. The Rukia that was afraid of others. The Rukia that couldn't speak unless Ichigo was by her. The Rukia that never believed she could heal.

And for a brief moment she felt anger towards Ichigo again. "He promised that they would never get near me. He promised to keep me safe!" Tears poured down her face and the second she realized what she said, she felt guilt like no other.

"Now Rukia, our intentions are a bit different this time. Your husband knows of everything that happened to you over a year ago and what we want is different now." Rukia knew it was a daring question to ask, but she couldn't suppress it any longer.

"How come you didn't kill Ichigo when you got your deck of cards?" She hissed. The two men laughed.

"We figured you would wonder something like that, but we've decided to keep him alive just a little longer." Rukia still couldn't believe that they were here in front of her speaking to her.

It was like the whole year that had passed by never happened. They moved closer to her and she could hear her heart thumping in her chest. "Please no" She whispered.

Rukia could see their every expression and she hated it. Their eyes were taunting and lust-filled. Were they going to do this all over again?

But something was different about everything and she realized what it was as she moved her arms and legs freely.

Her body wasn't paralyzed.

Rukia could move freely. Before the two could reach her Rukia jumped in the air and over them.

She sensed around for her zanpaktou but it was no where in sight. Ryou and Hiraku were facing her again with grins on their faces.

"Oh dear Ryou, it seems we forgot to paralyze her." Hiraku said. She now knew how to tell them apart. Hiraku was the one with lighter hair. "Yes Hiraku, we did."

They were trying to confuse her but it wouldn't work. "Stay back!" She yelled as she placed her hand in front of her. She yelled out a kido attack, but nothing happened.

"What?" She thought. "Rukia, the reason we didn't paralyze you is because you can't use any of your shinigami powers in here." Hiraku stated. Rukia tried once more, and nothing happened.

She let her hands fall to her sides. Haru still sat in his chair looked extremely afraid.

"For now we will leave you up here, but don't get too comfortable, we haven't had your welcome back party just yet." Rukia felt chills crawl down her spine. They were going to break her all over again.

After they left the room Rukia sunk back onto the ground. Her eyes couldn't concentrate on anything. Her senses wouldn't work right. She just felt lost, like she had a year ago.

Remembering that Haru was in the room, she turned to him. "How could you." She whispered. Haru tensed up quickly and looked away. "Ichigo trusted you and believed in you and here you are, helping those men that killed innocent people,"

"Kurosaki-san please."

"and gave others false hope."

"It's not what you think."

"How do you think Ichigo feels right now? He wanted you to help and instead you lead me straight to the enemy. What kind of vice captain are you?" Rukia's voice was cracking due to her tears.

"There's a lot that you don't understand." He mumbled. Rukia didn't care to hear any of it.

She was too angry and upset to care.

Rukia braced herself for the worst as unexpectedly, images popped into her mind. Images she hadn't seen in about five months.

Hiraku and Ryou held the key to the dormant and closed part of her mind.

It was now unlocked.

She stopped everything she was saying to Haru and brought her knees into her chest. The dress she wore wasn't too constricting, and just as the thoughts of the dress sprang up, she felt herself fall even more to pieces.

_They_ had put the dress on her, seen her naked flesh, and she hoped and prayed, that they only looked.

Rukia's mind switched to Ichigo, and where he was, and what he was doing. "Where are you?" She whispered. Ichigo was suffering too, and she could feel it.

Even if he was far away, she just knew it.

Hours passed, and when Rukia actually began to think she was dreaming, they walked back into the room.

"Here's the deal Rukia, you've been very good to us, treated us well, but things are going to change now." Rukia didn't even look up as the two spoke. They always said things in a surprising and edgy manner.

"Don't think we forgot how that woman Matsumoto found out about what had been happening, because we haven't. We should have killed your husband for that, but we didn't. We're going to give you a second chance Rukia."

She lifted her head slightly, signaling her attention.

"You know that when we mean business, we mean business." The words hurt much deeper than they sounded. "The scenario is different now, considering Ichigo knows what is going on, and the fact that you have been well, kidnapped."

Haru cringed at the last part, but Rukia didn't look at him. He didn't deserve to be looked at.

"This is the last straw Rukia, and if you don't listen, then we will have our fun with you just like before, though we might do that anyways." They both smiled and Rukia couldn't stop the shudder in her body.

"We want you to do one final act for us Rukia, and when it's over, we'll let you go." She still didn't look up at them, even if she was hurting inside.

"We want you,"

"To act as bait to bring Kuchiki Byakuya."

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Unohana had come to the 3rd division as quickly as possible. "How's Matsumoto?" Hitsugaya asked. Unohana smiled.

"She'll be fine." Hinamori smiled too and squeezed Hitsugaya's hand. When they had heard the news of the attacks, their honeymoon came to an end.

None of them knew what to think of the situation.

"I can't imagine how he feels." Hinamori whispered. It had only been several hours since Rukia had been taken away, but it felt likes days, weeks even.

Hitsugaya didn't know what to say. He wasn't one to say much, and he felt a little lost as to what would comfort who.

"Why did they wait so long?" Hinamori asked. "I don't know Hinamori. I don't think anyone really does."

Kuchiki Byakuya entered the room seconds later looking tense. He too had received the message of Rukia's kidnapping, and just like Ichigo, there wasn't much he could do just yet.

They all needed to think and hard. Where would they take Rukia? Why would they go through all this trouble again? Why hadn't someone close to Rukia been killed for trying to escape from them?

He cursed himself. Byakuya liked to get things done quickly, and that included disposing of trash. He had wanted to find the two men as soon as they could, but there wasn't a single clue as to where to start, and because of all the worry about Rukia, the plan sort of fell to pieces.

Everyone assumed for a short while it was over, even though it obviously wasn't. Rukia was still afraid of them, but she improved greatly, physically and mentally.

For once in Byakuya's life, he was truly grateful that Ichigo was her husband. If it hadn't been for him, than Rukia probably wouldn't be too different than what she used to be.

He felt immediate anger following, neither at Ichigo nor himself, but at the two men who now held Rukia captive once again. The two men were truly sick to do something so horrible. She was now their slave again and there wasn't much to be done.

Byakuya said a brief goodbye to the four sitting worriedly in the third division training room, and left.

Ichigo hadn't spoken to anyone, and he didn't plan on doing so for a long time. He felt like a failure, and nothing could change his mind.

The steps he took as he walked were slow and tired ones. He'd moved around hopelessly in a circle. Ichigo needed to go and find her, but would she even want him to?

He had promised her protection and love, but what now? Would Rukia call him a liar? A bad husband? A good for nothing? Could he even find her to hear her even say such things? Ichigo couldn't sense her at all, and he really had no idea as to where to begin.

They probably took her to wherever they hid before, and Ichigo didn't have any sort of idea as to where that could be. He wanted to scream again, but it wouldn't help.

Another hour passed, and when Ichigo opened his eyes, he was lying on the cold ground of Seireitei. "Kurosaki." He heard a voice say.

He listened again, and looked around, only to see a dark blob. "Kurosaki, wake up." Ichigo did as he was told and slowly sat up, his vision becoming clearer.

It was Byakuya.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo mumbled. "I could ask you the same thing." Byakuya sounded extremely uneasy, and Ichigo figured he knew about Rukia.

And then he felt more guilt.

Instead of wasting time, Ichigo could have been telling people and trying to come up with some sort of plan, but he couldn't even do that.

"What do you want?" Ichigo muttered angrily. Byakuya's cold stare held extreme emptiness in it, and Ichigo regretted sounding so harsh. Of course Byakuya would be upset too.

"I have something important to show you." Ichigo nodded and stood slowly as to not get dizzy. He almost wanted to laugh, because it was raining.

Why did it always rain when something bad happened? It felt so cliché, and yet, just right at the same time.

Instead of heading quickly to wherever Byakuya wanted them to go, they both walked in the cold rain.

"Unohana healed Matsumoto's injuries, she'll be fine." That was another stab to Ichigo. He had left her there by herself completely injured.

"Hitsugaya and Hinamori are back with her, and they are worried. Matsumoto told us what happened, and we don't know what to do right now." Ichigo couldn't really say anything, because his words wouldn't help.

They ended up walking into Byakuya's mansion. Something felt dark about it, and Ichigo knew it was his own gloom washing onto the walls and furniture.

"Ichigo, we're going to get Rukia back. I think I might know where they are, and what they might really want." What they really wanted? Wasn't it Rukia?

He just kept his mouth closed and listened as Byakuya continued. "I know you've helped Rukia a lot, and of all the people to feel her pain, it's you. I want to thank you for what you've done for her up to this point, but now we have more problems to face."

Ichigo would have been extremely surprised at Byakuya's kind words if he himself wasn't overwhelmed with Rukia being gone.

"How can you thank me? I broke the promise to Rukia that I would protect her. How can I face her?" Byakuya looked back at the sullen man.

"Nobody is perfect. You told her those things to comfort her, and they worked. You did your best to protect her. If you give up and continue to act depressed like you are now, that is when you will truly break your promise and let Rukia down. She knows you better than anyone, and I'm sure she's waiting."

Now Ichigo was shocked.

To have Kuchiki Byakuya, the man who Ichigo never really liked, say such inspiring words to him not only surprised him, but actually eased his pain.

He was right. Of course Ichigo still felt guilty, and he always would, but at the moment, he needed to focus on saving Rukia. If he truly wanted to protect her and make her happy, then he would save her as fast as he could, before any damage could be done on her.

He hated to even think of Rukia getting hurt.

Ichigo soon realized that Byakuya was walking again, and quickly caught up with him. "Now, as I said before, I think I might know what they really want." They turned down another hallway and into a room Ichigo had never seen.

"Ryou and Hiraku wanted Rukia to deliver some sort of message to me right?" Ichigo nodded. "And I couldn't remember who they were when you told me their names."

"Well, I was searching for something in this room when I found this." Byakuya pulled a white dusty looking book from one of the drawers in the desk.

"This is Hisana's diary."

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A/N: OOH two cliffies! I'm the devil right? Haha, well now you guys know a little bit about what could really be going on. This again was sort of short, but I felt the chapter should end right there to leave you totally guessing. Feel free to give ideas about how Hisana's diary could be apart of the plot!!

On another note, poor Ichigo! I felt really bad for him while writing this. He feels so guilty for Rukia getting kidnapped. Well hopefully Byakuya's short words will change his mind right? Let's hope so! So many things are going to happen! And what about Rukia! That's twice now that they've tried to get her to do something for them concerning Byakuya. Oh and yes, I know the fight scene was once again short, but it's supposed to be short and sweet. Don't worry, I'll make the final fight scene long and awesome (hopefully!)

I hope you all like this chapter, even if it was depressing. Please REVIEW!! I love you all!!


	14. Hisana's Diary

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

Alright, story time, YAY! This chapter, which is titled Hisana's Diary, talks a lot about what her diary says! Haha, yah, I'm retarded. Just a heads up, I'm thinking this story is going to be about eighteen chapters (epilogue included). I haven't written too much after this chapter, but that's the length I'm wanting. Love you guys!! And also, there will probably be a sequel…

Now read!!

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.14 Hisana's Diary

Ichigo stared at the book curiously, and wondered how her diary could somehow possibly relate to their current problem.

Though it was much more than a problem.

"Kurosaki, for some reason I opened up the pages and read. I found out some very interesting things." Byakuya handed the book to Ichigo, and opened the book to a marked page.

"Read it." Byakuya demanded. Ichigo averted his eyes back to the dusty book and began to read.

_July 14_

_Dear Diary,_

_I'm engaged to a noble. I don't know why the man wants to marry me, but I feel a little overwhelmed. I'm not worthy of such a man. He really cares for me, and I just don't see how he could. Besides the problem of the Kuchiki clan, there's also Koichi to worry about. He proposed to me, telling me he loves me and everything. I told him I didn't return his feelings, and he blamed it all on Kuchiki Byakuya. I care about Koichi, but not enough to marry him. That's all for now._

Ichigo turned the page, still not understanding how it had to do with anything.

_September 7_

_Dear Diary,_

_I know it has been a long time since I've written anything down, but I've been so busy. The wedding is in a week, and I'm really scared. I've had a cold for the past week, and to make things worse, Koichi is furious with me. He thinks I don't care about him at all and am just marrying Kuchiki-sama because of his wealth. No, I'm not in love with Kuchiki-sama, but he's been so kind to me. I owe it to him to marry him. Besides, I want to get off the streets. His two younger brothers are angry too. Hiraku and Ryou wouldn't even speak to me when I tried talking to them. Kuchiki-sama said it would be alright for them to come to the wedding since they are such good friends, but I don't think they will. They're the only family I have, and I really would love if they would come. That's all for now._

Ichigo quickly turned the page. How did Byakuya's deceased wife know Hiraku and Ryou?

_October 22_

_Dear Diary,_

_Things are not going so well. The cold I had before my wedding hasn't gone away. I've gone to the doctor and they don't know what is wrong. The good news is that I talked to Koichi and his brothers. They were actually nice to me, and I'm so glad they are trying to be understanding. Byakuya-san has been a wonderful husband. He treats me so kindly it's amazing. I only wish I could open up to him more. Maybe in time I will, I hope that is the truth. That is all for now._

Ichigo glanced at Byakuya, and when he gave him a nod, Ichigo looked at the next entry.

_January 14_

_Dear Diary,_

_Something tragic has happened. Koichi, one of my closest friends, passed away yesterday. I don't know how it happened, but Ryou and Hiraku came to me crying. When Byakuya came up to the two, they shouted at him, like it was his fault or something. I immediately felt anger towards them for blaming Byakuya, even if they were extremely upset. Byakuya is a kind person and wouldn't do something so low as cause the death of someone, especially someone I care about. My sickness is only getting worse, and the doctors still can't find a cure for it. That is all._

_P.S- Happy birthday Rukia._

Ichigo smiled lightly at the mentioning of Rukia.

"There is only one more entry I want you to read." Byakuya stated. Ichigo turned the page one last time.

_February 10_

_Dear Diary,_

_Ryou and Hiraku have disappeared, and I'm worried about them. The last time I saw them was a few weeks ago, and it was only for a second. I don't have a clue as to where they could go, and I only hope they won't do anything stupid. They're still very upset about their brother's death. This might be my last entry for the next few months because I will be on bed rest. I won't even be able to write. Hopefully after I sleep and rest for a while, I'll get better. Byakuya has the best doctor helping me and I'm so grateful for everything Byakuya has done. I know that he loves me, and the more I get to know him, the more I care for him. That's all for now._

Ichigo closed the book slowly. Byakuya's expression was a painful one. Even if it had been over fifty years ago, Ichigo knew that Byakuya had loved her. Rukia had told him about her sister Hisana, and how Byakuya married her, which was how Rukia became his sister.

The diary more than likely brought back memories of when she had been alive.

"So you did use to know them? Through Hisana?" Ichigo asked. Byakuya nodded. "Yes, they were her friends in Rukongai."

"So you think they might be doing all of this to get to you?" Ichigo's voice held anger, but he couldn't help it.

"Yes." Byakuya responded. "I thought about what Hisana had written, and what I remembered. I remember the day that Hiraku and Ryou yelled at me. They thought I had caused their brother's death, which I of course had nothing to do with."

"But Koichi proposed to her, and she turned him down. He was probably jealous of you." Byakuya nodded.

"He thought I was taking Hisana away from him, and I was in a way, but it made her happier than ever. Koichi didn't understand that. So when he died, Ryou and Hiraku blamed me. They disappeared later, and I only assume they are what they are now. You told me they wanted Rukia to deliver some sort of message to me, so I think that might be our answer."

"So why would they use Rukia?"

"It doesn't make sense for them to do what they did to her. If they wanted her to get a message or something to me, then they wouldn't have gone through all the trouble just to do it."

"Apparently, they would." Ichigo muttered angrily. His blood was heating up. So had they really just did all of that to Rukia just to get some stupid message to Byakuya? But why did they kidnap her? What did they want to do now?

He needed to calm down. Getting angry at the precise moment wouldn't do any good. He would have his moment to release his long awaited anger. The next time he met Hiraku and Ryou, they _wouldn't_ escape.

Ichigo was going to tear them from limb to limb. He could hear Rukia screaming again for him, and he closed his eyes tightly.

She _needed_ him, desperately.

But where could they begin? How could they find her? Would she be afraid and stare blankly, like she did before? What would they do to her? What _were_ they doing to her?

His mind went to Haru, and why the boy betrayed them. It didn't make any sense. Haru seemed like such a good person, but some people could be extremely good at acting.

Aizen Sousuke had fooled everyone. It took years for some people to understand how someone like him could be so evil and malignant. So yes, it was possible to fool others. Ichigo naturally had a soft heart, and probably looked at the boy with warmth because of his young age.

But now, Ichigo's heart felt dark, like his inner hollow would come out. He would have wanted for his inner hollow to come out when he would fight Hiraku and Ryou, but Ichigo wanted to torture them himself.

"Ok, well I'm glad to know that they have some history with you, but that still doesn't give us a clue as to why they would want Rukia. We need to find her before something happens." Ichigo's instinct was quickly kicking in. If they didn't start cracking on finding her in the next minute, he would go off on his own, and probably do something extremely brainless.

"Where can we start for clues?" Ichigo asked. "I suggest we receive help from Hitsugaya, he's always good with tracking. Let's go." Ichigo nodded, fighting his urge to go and find Rukia on his own.

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Rukia was shoved harshly into a small jail cell. "We'll be back for you in a little while." Hiraku muttered smiling. Rukia sank to the floor, thinking hard.

What did they have against Byakuya? What did what happened to her link to him? Nothing made sense to her, and she only felt more confusion when she tried to think more on it.

She stopped what she was doing when she heard a whimpering noise. It sounded like a girl. "Is someone there?" Rukia asked. The whimpering stopped. She had seen another jail cell next to her when being brought into the room.

"Hello?" Rukia repeated. She could hear some slow shuffling and a cough. "Y-Yes." She heard someone whisper. The voice was soft and high-pitched.

"Who are you?" Rukia asked. There was a long pause, but the small voice spoke again. "Aina." The person responded. "My name is Rukia." Rukia said kindly. It wasn't like Rukia was in any position to comfort someone, but relieving people of their pains was somehow apart of her.

"Why are you here?" Aina asked. "If you really want to know, I have no idea." Rukia was doing it again, acting calm, like nothing was happening. She remembered feeling that way when everything began, because her mind wouldn't register what happened.

She shuddered when she thought of going through the whole recovery again. "Do you know why you're here?" Rukia asked. "N-No, I don't. I just remember walking home one day, and then being brought here the next."

Rukia knew her next question might be painful, but for some reason, she wanted to know. "Have these men, hurt you in any way?" The girl paused again, and Rukia hoped she didn't hit some sort of sensitive spot.

"Well, they did kidnap me and bring me here. I had a throbbing headache when I woke up, so I'm assuming they punched me in the head or something, but other than that, I've been locked up in here." Rukia felt great relief in knowing that they hadn't done anything to her, though the girl could have been lying for some reason.

Just like Rukia had.

"Why? Have they done something to you?" Aina asked. Rukia closed her eyes. Rukia felt déjà vu, and she hated it.

"No, they haven't." Rukia lied. If Ryou and Hiraku hadn't done anything to Aina, than Rukia didn't want to alarm the girl with more fear. Rukia didn't feel like saying anything about being raped anyways.

"How long have you been here?" Rukia asked. "Probably a month." Rukia's eyes widened. "You've been here a _month_? And you've been in here this whole time?" She felt horrible for the girl. Aina on the other hand, didn't respond.

"How old are you Aina?" Rukia asked. "Well, technically I'm 57, but if you mean appearance wise, probably about sixteen."

A second later, Hiraku was back, and he looked angry.

Rukia looked away, waiting for her cell to be unlocked, but she head footsteps walking away from her.

"Come on, let's go." Hiraku said to someone. His voice sounded extremely harsh. "We have some work for you to do Aina. You won't be in here anymore." Hiraku walked by Rukia with Aina.

The girl was beautiful. She had light brown hair and soft green eyes. Even with dirt on her face, she looked pretty. Aina smiled weakly at Rukia before turning away with Hiraku. For some reason, seeing Hiraku's hand clenched onto the girl's shoulder gave Rukia a sick feeling inside.

It was seeing that hand, and remembering how it touched her, that caused a sudden tear to fall from Rukia's cheek.

She didn't want it to happen again, it couldn't. When the door closed, Rukia wrapped her arms around her body, remembering suddenly the dress she wore. What sort of motive did they truly have? It was driving her nuts.

"Who is that girl?" Rukia thought. Had they raped and threatened Aina just like they did to her? Or was she simply being held captive for something else.

Her mind quickly floated to her brother. What in the world could they want with him? She was sick of asking herself questions that wouldn't be answered straight away.

"Ichigo." She whispered again. Ichigo was the only one that could ease her pain, and he wasn't with her.

And then like a ton of bricks, everything hit her again. The sick feeling she felt in her stomach earlier again grew into a strong nausea, and she quickly got on all fours to cough up whatever remnants were left in her stomach.

It was coming back, and she knew it. Something as serious and traumatic as being raped would take a great amount of time to heal, and now with being back into the clutches of darkness, it would only take longer.

If she would ever heal.

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They quickly approached the small and abandoned building. It had been several days since the abduction of Rukia, and finally, an idea formed. Though if it would help or not was not absolute.

"I'm sure this will help us." Ichigo whispered to himself. Byakuya and Hitsugaya followed quickly behind him.

"Kurosaki, are you sure this is the place?" Byakuya asked. Both Ichigo and Hitsugaya nodded. It had been over a year ago since any of them had thought of the place.

"It all happened here." Ichigo muttered. "So this is where you found her Kurosaki?" Byakuya asked. For some reason, the question bothered Ichigo to a great degree, and he nodded painfully.

Ichigo took another step inside, and tried not to breath. Something hurt him deeply inside, and he could hear her screaming again.

He never wanted to go into the room where Rukia was tortured ever again, but after talking with Hitsugaya, they felt they could find some sort of clue inside the room of hell.

"Do you sense anything familiar?" Hitsugaya asked. Of course he felt something familiar, and at the same time, it felt so long ago, almost impossible to reach.

"I don't feel any kind of reiatsu, and I don't see a clue of anything —" Ichigo stopped talking as he stared down at the single bed in the room. There were no sheets or blankets to cover it, just a single pillow, and an old mattress.

Ichigo turned around sharply before his mind would wander. "Look, I don't think we're going to find anything here." Byakuya and Hitsugaya nodded. They knew it would be hard for him to come here, and they never bothered with offering to go by themselves, because Ichigo have gone anyways.

He, like always, wanted to be the hero after all.

After one quick look, the three left. The walk back to Byakuya's mansion was silent, and Ichigo was quickly losing his patience.

"I can't just sit down. I need to be doing something to find her, anything." Ichigo muttered. "She'll be ok, I know it." Matsumoto told him. Her words didn't ease Ichigo one bit.

"How is there any possible way of knowing? Of understanding where she could be when we have no evidence, no way of how to sense them. They could be in Hueco Mundo and we would have no idea!" Ichigo shouted.

"Ichigo." Byakuya stated. Ichigo lifted his head up when he heard Byakuya use his first name. "Remember what you read about Hisana. If they're real intentions are me, which is what I understand, then I'm sure they are just using her for something. She'll be ok."

"They're just _using_ her for something? Like they _used_ her before?" Ichigo mocked. "I don't understand any of this. If what they really want is you, then why are they doing all this to Rukia? She's never done anything to them!" Ichigo was standing on his feet now.

"I've already broken my promise to her, and I have no idea what is happening to her now. But the whole problem is how they've been using her. That needs to end, and fast. She was finally getting better, and now it's going to be ruined again. They won't escape from me, and this time, if they do, I won't make the mistake of letting it go, of just waiting for them to come. No," Ichigo turned and faced all of them.

"This time, they'll be the ones to wait for me." All four of them stared at Ichigo as he walked out of Byakuya's large mansion, hand gripped tightly on his sword.

"How are we going to find her?" Hinamori asked. She had become best friends with Rukia, and didn't want to see that blank and fearful expression in Rukia's face ever again.

Nobody said anything, because nobody knew the answer. They had all fought against ruthless enemies, and won victoriously, but now, to save one person, they couldn't even begin from scratch.

Because there was nothing to begin from.

"We need to alert Yamamoto-taichou." Hitsugaya said calmly. "He knows what happened to Rukia, and how the men killed the humans. I bet if we get enough involved, we could track her down. I should go to the human world and ask Urahara-san, he usually has useful information." Hinamori and Matsumoto both nodded.

Byakuya stood, looking cold. "I'll go to Yamamoto-taichou then, and you three go to the human world at once. Meet back here as soon as you can." All three of the stood to leave, sort of surprised by Byakuya's statement.

In a second all of them felt an enormous reiatsu, causing their bodies to shake slightly.

"Who's there?" Hitsugaya hissed. Nobody responded to Hitsugaya's words, and a death butterfly descended down into Byakuya's dining room.

Everyone stared at the dark creature as it fluttered slowly through the room, landing right next to Byakuya's ear.

Silence quickly followed.

"It's _them_. They want me to meet them in Rukongai, district 64." Byakuya almost whispered.

"What do you mean?" Matsumoto asked. "Hiraku and Ryou, they only want me to come." Hitsugaya's hands clenched into fists.

"Just what the hell are they trying to pull?" Hitsugaya asked. "Why do they want you?" Byakuya looked away, not understanding.

"Did they say when they wanted you to meet?" Hinamori asked shyly. Byakuya moved to the doorway.

"Immediately. Do not tell Kurosaki. I'll make sure Rukia is safe." Before anyone could protest, Kuchiki Byakuya disappeared.

"But Ichigo should know! He has the right too!" Hinamori shouted. Hitsugaya closed his eyes. "It could put Rukia in danger."

"Why do they even want him though, I don't understand." Matsumoto murmured. "I don't know, but for now, we will just have to wait. When Kurosaki returns, we will not mention anything about Byakuya."

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A/N: Blah drama!!! Urggghh, let me tell you, these are the toughest parts to write in stories, because it's like, you want to skip to the end, where everything is all happy, but you know you have to put these moments in there, to make the story better. A lot of you guys might not see Byakuya doing something like that, but I totally do. He's the kind of guy to put burdens onto himself, even if he doesn't know what's going to happen. I also hope Hisana's diary entries didn't sound corny; I just wanted her to explain about how she knew Ryou and Hiraku, and why they might possibly hate Byakuya. Now, the reason of why they did everything to Rukia will come later on!! Like I said, there's probably about three more chapters, but I might shorten it, or make it longer (hopefully longer if anything), whatever I feel sounds good.

Please review and tell me how I'm doing with this, because this was the part of the story that I was absolutely not sure about, so tell me if it sounds ok or good or bad or whatever!! Love you all!!!

P.S- The last entry date to Hisana's diary is the day of my birthday!! (Bahaha I'm so retarded!!)


	15. No Hero

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach mmk?

Lots of Rukia's POV in this chapter. It's just more of her talking to the girl and Hiraku and Ryou (eeeww right?) Just a few more chapters!! So please review!! I really want to reach 200 reviews for this fic, and I'm pretty far away, so help me out, please? Of all the stories I've written, this has been by far my favorite one to write. Seriously guys, I've reread it so many times because I like it so much (I'm not trying to say that I think my writing is good) I'm just saying that I wanted to write this kind of story, and I finally got to!! So please, if you like this fic, or if you don't like this fic, if you have lots of homework or if you don't, lend me your comments and advice, seriously, it makes such a difference in how I continue my stories!!!

Now read!! Please???

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.15 No Hero

Rukia's cursed stomach growled, and she knew that eventually, she would have to eat the food given to her. Unfortunately, Ichigo's stubbornness rubbed off on her, and she couldn't allow herself to eat food given by people she truly hated.

She would rather starve than do what they wanted, which was to live at the moment.

The whole figure out how Byakuya could be involved plan crumbled to pieces after several days of not getting any sort of idea. How could she when there were endless amounts of ways?

Her head pounded, and she instinctively placed her fingers on her temples to rub them soothingly. Rukia was getting impatient, and it wasn't just because of being locked up in a prison cell for practically three days.

No, getting kidnapped again by the people she feared the most, only telling her she would be used at "bait" for her brother, wondering how Ichigo was managing, if he wasn't already dead, and wondering what the hell the girl named Aina had to with anything had her getting impatient.

She had a million questions, and not a single answer had come up.

Rukia turned her head away when she heard a door being opened, knowing good and well who would step in.

"Rukia, you still haven't eaten any food. That's a shame, just a few more days and you might not live." Hiraku said calmly. Rukia wanted to laugh at the man. She could go weeks without food, she had before.

She only stayed silent and kept her head down. Nothing brought more of a loath of seeing the piercing eyes of Ryou and Hiraku, the same eyes that tore into her soul, and ripped parts out bit by bit, until Rukia couldn't feel anything but darkness.

Even if she did want to look brave and strong, it wasn't worth it to look at the man. Rukia for once knew her limits, and she knew that would be pushing it way too far.

Behind the doorway emerged Ryou and the girl Rukia had met a few days ago. Aina looked tired, and Rukia quickly looked for any sign of bruising or pain in her face, but she only saw fatigue.

"Thank you for your help Aina, I'm sure he'll appreciate it." Ryou muttered as he shoved Aina into the cell next to Rukia's. Before the two closed the doors once again, they both stopped in front of Rukia's cell and opened her gated doorway.

"Rukia, we need to talk to you briefly." Hiraku stated with a grin. Without realizing what she was doing, Rukia stood and walked to the man, not fully aware of how tired she probably appeared.

She glanced one last time at Aina before having to leave the cold room, for once wanting to be in the cell rather than with the two men.

They stopped and turned into a small l bedroom.

Rukia squeezed her eyes closed once she saw the bed, not being able to handle the flashes going through her mind. "Oh don't worry Rukia; there won't be any of _that_, at least not now anyways." Ryou said as he motioned for her to sit on the bed.

She slowly sank onto the mattress, keeping her body on complete edge. Rukia could never trust their words after all.

Ryou and Hiraku both stood with their arms crossed, staring down at Rukia. "You haven't been doing what we've asked these past few days Rukia." Ryou began. "You haven't touched your food, and you won't put on any of the clothes we got you."

She knew that if she didn't have so many other things on her mind, she would wonder why they acted like some sort of mother to her.

"I'm not hungry." Was all she replied. In truth, she was very hungry, but thinking about who had given her the food, and what could possibly be in it, made her lose her appetite. She refused to touch the food until her body was about to literally collapse.

The corner of her lips pulled up slightly when she saw a little irritation come onto Ryou's face. "Now look, everything will happen tomorrow night. Byakuya will meet where we ask him to come, alone."

"I still don't understand why he has to do with anything." Rukia muttered angrily. The two laughed. "Oh dear Rukia, he has to do with everything."

Fire swarmed through her soul, and she quickly rose to her feet. "Then why did you do all that to me? If you wanted to use me, then why didn't you just kidnap me and then use me as bait in the first place?" She eventually started to yell, but she didn't care.

"Rukia, sit down —"

"NO, I will NOT sit down!! You two are sick and disgusting men!! You're really just monsters! Do you have any idea of what you've done to the ones I love? I don't understand! You should go live in Hueco Mundo with all the other hollows, they like torturing humans just like YOU!"

Rukia went to say more, but was slapped across the face, causing her body to slam onto the ground.

She fell on her stomach, just barely catching herself with her hands. Blood trickled from her lip, and she squeezed her eyes closed from the stinging pain.

"Haru," Ryou demanded harshly. Haru emerged looking upset. "Take her back to her cell." Haru nodded nervously, and pulled Rukia by the arm. She didn't fight him when he helped her back.

"I'm sorry Kurosaki-san." Haru whispered. For some reason, she could tell he meant it, even if he sounded nervous.

"Why are you here Haru?" Rukia asked weakly. Haru didn't respond, and he didn't say anything until they reached her cell.

"They didn't poison the food, so you should eat it." Haru said softly, not looking at Rukia. Rukia was in too much pain to hear the humor in his words, and besides.

Haru had betrayed them, or had he?

There was another question she became curious about. What were Haru's intentions with Ryou and Hiraku? She looked up at Haru to see his eyes on something else.

"You ok?" He whispered. After realizing the words weren't directed to her, she heard Aina's soft voice.

"Yah, I'm fine. You?" Haru went to reply, but caught Rukia watching him. He looked at who Rukia assumed was Aina one last time before leaving the room.

Now Rukia was really lost. Did Haru know Aina? It only made sense if he worked for them that he would know who she was, but why did he ask her that?

"Aina," Rukia began, not knowing of what choice of words to use. "Yes?" She replied calmly.

"Do you know Haru?" Aina was silent for a moment, but eventually answered. "Kind of, I've only talked to him when he takes me to and from this jail cell, and he asks me if I'm ok."

The answer was enough for Rukia to let the conversation slide.

She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head, ignoring the stinging on her cheek and lip. "They sure can slap hard." She muttered.

Rukia closed her eyes. When would any of it end? When would she feel safe ever again? When would she ever be able to walk calmly and not feel any pains or fears?

Would she ever get to experience any of those feelings in the first place? What if she died?

But nothing could make her shudder more at someone else dying for her pathetic sake, not only Ichigo's but now her brother's.

Without even realizing it, a day soon passed. Rukia slept through most of it, mainly due to the exhaustion on her body for not eating food, which she finally gave into.

Rukia could see the sun setting outside through the small window in her cell, and she looked up slowly as the door opened.

Ryou, Hiraku, and Haru all emerged into the cell, Haru looking furious. The two brothers had sinister looks on their faces as they unlocked Rukia's cell.

"In just a little while you'll be reunited with your brother, so before you go, we wanted to give you a little goodbye present, as you probably won't be seeing us ever again." Ryou told her.

Rukia immediately sensed what they wanted, and all the fear, all the anxiety building up inside, emerged.

She stood with her hands gripped in fists. "I don't want it." She told them viciously. They both looked at each other and smirked.

"Just one last time Rukia, for us." Hiraku said with a slightly gentler voice as he caressed her arm sickeningly.

"No." She told them, shoving his hand away. "Don't _touch_ me." She threatened.

Hiraku and Ryou both made a move for her and pushed her against the wall. "We can touch you all you want Rukia. Remember, we still have those cards and we can end the life of your husband any time we want." Ryou whispered, breathing into her neck.

"THEN WHY HAVEN'T YOU DONE IT ALREADY?" Rukia screamed, ignoring the sickening strokes to her thighs.

For once, Hiraku and Ryou looked stumped. They slowly pulled away from Rukia and grabbed her by the arm.

"Because Rukia." Ryou muttered.

"It brings us great pleasure to feel you, because we're simply obsessed with you."

For once, Rukia could see the disgusting truth in their words. "Why?" She asked.

"Hisan —" Hiraku began, but Ryou cut him off.

"No brother, not yet." Ryou demanded. Hiraku nodded and the two fell silent.

"Haru, get Rukia properly changed. We'll be leaving in the next thirty minutes." Ryou told him, and the two brothers walked away.

As soon as the door closed, Haru sighed. "Come on Kurosaki-san, let's get you ready." He told her weakly.

"What was Hiraku going to say?" Rukia asked. Haru looked surprised for a moment, but immediately looked down.

"I-I don't know Kurosaki-san. Honestly, I don't know a lot of things."

"But surely they've said something—"

"No Kurosaki-san, they haven't."

"Then why are you doing this?" Rukia asked with her voice cracked. Tears were falling for no specific reason.

"The same reason why you allowed the men to rape you. I'm protecting."

Rukia couldn't speak, and Haru grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the cell.

"Now come on. We need to get you washed up. You look pretty filthy." Haru told her.

When they reached the bathing room, Haru put a towel down for her.

"Who is Aina?" Rukia asked. Haru knew what her question meant, and answered.

"My younger sister. Now please take your bath and put these clothes on. Be quick too." He said dryly before walking out.

So Rukia had thought correctly. Aina was connected to Haru like she somewhat expected. Ryou and Hiraku were blackmailing Haru so that he would do as he was told, which included hurting other people, like Ryou and Hiraku had wanted Rukia to do to her older brother.

Was Aina getting raped too? And if she wasn't getting raped specifically, were they doing anything else to torture her?

Rukia hoped not, because she didn't want anyone else to feel the pains she felt, or experience the fear she had. Sadly, there were people, and Rukia prayed the percentage was extremely small.

The warm water helped a little, and she completely ignored the factor of Hiraku and Ryou watching her, because she was too worried about her brother, and she was in desperate need of a good hot bath.

She was glad to know the dress reached her shins, covering up much of her body. When she left the restroom, Haru was standing against the wall with dull eyes.

"I'm sorry Haru." Rukia told him. He could have been lying to her, but something inside her told her otherwise.

"Come on, let's go." Haru said, looking extremely guilty. It wasn't like Rukia was in any position to be feeling sorry for anyone considering what she had been through.

Hiraku and Ryou smiled when Rukia approached them. "You look beautiful Rukia." Ryou told her as he kissed her hand.

Rukia squeezed her eyes closed from his cool mouth touching her skin, knowing that they left unseen scars all over her body.

"You got her Ryou?" Hiraku asked. Rukia felt Ryou's hand take it's time snaking around her waist, and when it was fully around, he squeezed tightly.

"Yes, let's go. You're coming too Haru." Ryou told the boy, looking angry. The room became silent, and Rukia closed her eyes as she felt her body being tugged.

Only seconds later did she hear voices all around talking, feet moving on what sounded like a dirt ground, and several babies crying.

She opened her eyes and gasped. "Rukongai…"

"District 64." Hiraku finished.

To Rukia's annoyance, Ryou didn't let go of the arm gripped around her waist, and she seriously considered pulling it away.

She would have too, if she didn't feel a powerful reiatsu she knew all too well coming towards them.

"Nii-sama." She whispered. Ryou loosened his grip a little on her waist and pulled her closer to Hiraku.

"Yes, well, it looks like he's already here." Hiraku stated looking straight ahead.

From the crowd moving busily along the dirtied streets, Rukia could see him easily. His walk was distinct and elegant unlike the beggars of Rukongai District 64.

Several seconds later, he was about seven feet from Hiraku, Ryou, and Rukia.

"You actually came, we didn't think you would show up on such short notice." Ryou told the man.

Byakuya didn't say anything.

"So, you remember us now correct?" Hiraku asked. Byakuya stared at them coldly.

"We saw you reading Hisana's diary, where we know she talked a great deal about us, and our deceased brother Koichi."

Rukia only listened to what was going on. What on Earth did Hisana have to do with any of this?

"I only came here to get my sister." Byakuya said calmly, pulling out his zanpaktou. Rukia's eyes widened when Hiraku and Ryou both grinned.

"Nii-sama! Don't do it! It's a trap!"

But it was too late. Rukia was tossed to the side as Hiraku and Ryou chanted a spell.

"PARALYZE!" They screamed as they blasted a purple spell at Byakuya, causing his sword to fall from his hands.

"NII-SAMA!" Rukia screamed. Haru held her down as she tried to run to him. "Don't even bother Rukia." Hiraku told her.

The crowd of people walking on the streets were now gone, and Rukia could still hear faint screaming.

"We used the same spell on him that we did on you, only this one is much stronger." Hiraku continued.

"You want to know why we want this man dead Rukia?" Ryou asked encircling a paralyzed Byakuya.

"He took Hisana away from us all those decades ago. It's his fault our brother was killed, and it's his fault we are the way we are now."

Rukia's eyes only widened in surprise.

"H-Hisana?" Rukia whispered.

"Don't you see Rukia? Hisana was our friend, and our brother loved him greatly. But you see, we loved her too, probably more so than our sweet brother, but Byakuya came and stole her away."

Hiraku moved away from Byakuya and put a hand to Rukia's face. "It would have been so easy to kidnap you and use you as bait from the beginning, but you see, just like we loved Hisana, we love you."

Rukia's body felt extremely cold suddenly. Seeing the expression on her face, Hiraku continued.

"After we found out Hisana died, we were furious at Byakuya. And then, we discovered you, who looks identical to your dearly deceased sister, running in the streets of Rukongai."

Hiraku moved back to Byakuya, and Ryou continued from that point on.

"We weren't kidding when we said we had an obsession with you, because we've watched your every move, and we know you like we know the back of our hands. So, when the time came, we decided to have our fun with you. Yes, I know it hurt you some, but now, after this, you won't have to suffer again.

"You're wrong!" Rukia cried.

"You don't know my every move! If you had, you would have surely known I would have given the second letter to Matsumoto, wouldn't you?" She muttered furiously.

Hiraku smirked.

"You're right Rukia, that was rather foolish of us, but either way, we got what we wanted, and we don't regret it at all. We wish we could have you again, but sometimes good things don't last very long."

"_Shut the hell up_." Came an angry voice.

Rukia quickly searched the crowd for where the voice came from, hoping her ears hadn't deceived her.

And then she felt his soaring reiatsu all around her, and she welcomed it in, smiling for the first time in days.

He emerged already in bankai form, his long black blade rested tightly in his right hand with his coat blowing lightly in the wind. His eyes held danger, keeping them glued to his prey.

She could see his anger illuminating off his body, but even through the blackness, she could see his determination to beat them.

Ichigo ripped his eyes away and looked at Rukia, surprised to see how beautiful she looked.

He smiled at her, one of the rarest, causing more tears to trickle down her face. Just as it appeared, it vanished, and he once again tore his eyes into the monsters before him.

"I thought I told you Kuchiki Byakuya. Only yourself." Ryou muttered looking extremely angry.

Byakuya didn't breathe out a single word, as he really couldn't anyways.

"You two really are stupid. The only ones dying here today are _you_." Ichigo stated, tightening the grip of his sword more.

He moved next to Rukia and Haru in one swift movement, surprising Hiraku and Ryou.

"Haru, you know what to do right?" Ichigo asked, keeping his eyes on Hiraku and Ryou.

Rukia only stared at him, not even aware of the conversation between Haru and Ichigo.

"Yah." Haru replied, wrapping an arm around Rukia's waste. Hiraku and Ryou were about ready to burst.

"Go." Ichigo commanded. Rukia realized what was happening.

"No! ICHIGO!" She cried, she didn't want to leave his side, she couldn't.

He looked at her for a second, and touched her hand with his. "Just let me do this Rukia, and then, we'll go home."

Rukia continued to cry, but felt comfort in his words. She gave his hand a light squeeze and let go.

Haru grabbed onto her more firmly, and the two disappeared.

"What a fool you are. We can easily go after the two." Hiraku said ruthlessly to Ichigo.

Hitsugaya appeared next to Hiraku, blade pointed at its target. "I don't think so." Hiraku surprise turned to anger as he looked back at his brother. Matsumoto appearing on his other side.

"This time, you won't escape, and I'll make sure of it." Ichigo muttered, and got into ready position.

"Keep her safe Haru." He whispered to himself, and launched towards his enemy.

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**A/N: **Ok, so first half of this chapter was kind of hard to write, but when it got to the part when they went to Rukongai, it was much easier!! I love writing the scenes where Ichigo and Rukia reunite, and it's so hard for me to let her slip away from him. I hope you all liked it, and please, I beg you, review! I worked really hard on this chapter so it would mean the world to me!!

Love you all, and there is only two or three more chapters after this GAH!!


	16. Go Back

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach mmk?

The final battle begins! Will Ichigo be able to beat Hiraku and Ryou? Or will they escape again. Gosh I hope not, cuz that would SUCK. Oh yah, I guess I can control that since I'm the author of this story and all…

I also want to deeply apologize for the RIDICULOUSLY long update. Seriously, I'm pathetic, but I wanted to make this chapter good, and because I felt pressure to do so (and because I lost a bit of interest), it took a verrrrryy long time; so really, you have every right to hate me, since I left you hanging right before the end. But, I went back and reread this story, and now, I present to you, the last chapter.

Enjoy, and know that I did the best I could.

The Secrets We Hide

Ch.16 Go Back

_Ichigo walked with his hands tightly in fists from Byakuya's mansion._

_What could he do? There wasn't a single trace of where Rukia could be, so how could he try and find her? Even if he did find where she was being kept, Hiraku and Ryou would probably run away again, just like before._

_Ichigo stopped when he felt a presence lingering around him. "Who's there?" He asked threateningly, hoping it was Ryou or Hiraku, coming to give him some sort of hint._

"_Kurosaki-taichou, I mean, Kurosaki-san." Haru said shakily. Ichigo pulled his sword out._

"_What the hell are you doing here?" Ichigo hissed, pointing his sword at the younger man._

"_Look, I don't have much time, but listen, Byakuya is on his way right now to see Hiraku and Ryou, who have Rukia. They're meeting at Rukongai District 64. Now, Hiraku and Ryou told him to come alone, so you need to go now. I'll be with them."  
_

"_I don't believe you —"_

"_When you come, I'll grab Rukia and escape, but you need to hold them off and fight them because their first priority is going to be to keep Rukia with them. Make sure Hitsugaya-taichou comes too." _

_Ichigo was sort of shocked at Haru's words. How could he trust him?  
_

"_Why the hell should I trust you?" Ichigo muttered._

_Haru smiled sadly. "I'm sorry for what I did to Kurosaki-san, but like they tried to do to her, they are doing to me. They have my sister, and if I don't do as they say, they'll kill her. So I'm trying to help now."_

_Ichigo was shocked._

"_Look, we don't have any time. I have to get back to go with them. They'll be leaving shortly."_

_Haru turned to leave but Ichigo stopped him._

"_How is Rukia?" Ichigo asked, putting a lot of meaning into the choice of words he used._

"_She's ok." Haru said grinning at him, and disappeared._

_Ichigo smiled and ran back to the Kuchiki mansion, quickly explaining the situation._

There were so many reasons for Ichigo to hate the monsters, the scum, and the filth in front of him. He was going to beat the hell out of them for what they did, and Ichigo wasn't going to lose.

He just couldn't.

The fight he was about to embrace held a lot of unwanted pain, unwanted memories, and unwanted hatred. Ichigo loathed the two brothers for what they had done. There was no need for them to have hurt Rukia the way they did, and her pains wouldn't go away for a long time, years even. Ichigo eyed Ryou, preparing his blade for the attack.

The tip of his zanpaktou targeted Ryou, and in a blur, Ichigo was ripping through Rukongai, aimed at one of the men that needed to die. Ryou was quick though and dodged Ichigo's first attack. He wouldn't be taking them lightly. Ichigo couldn't risk the men escaping again. He made the mistake before, and he wasn't going to do it again.

Ryou pulled his sword out when he was far away enough, not even releasing his zanpaktou.

"You really underestimate our strength." Ryou muttered.

"Same goes to you." Ichigo shot back, and charged towards the man again, faster than before. Ryou didn't have as much time to react, and barely blocked Ichigo's dark blade. Ichigo pushed his sword onto Ryou's roughly, hoping the monster's sword would break.

Ryou shot back, keeping his blade pointed up. Ichigo stole a glance at Hitsugaya and Hiraku, to see they both seemed equal in battle. He shot his eyes back just in time to see Ryou pulling into battle once again.

"Getsuga TENSHOU!" Ichigo screamed, hoping his attack would hit Ryou. To his luck, it did. Ryou coughed up some blood, wiping the blood following.

"You bastard." Ryou muttered. His eyes began changing to a dark color, almost like when Ichigo's hollow would try to consume him. Ichigo was too impatient to wait for whatever Ryou was going to do, and used his speed to cut Ryou. His blade pierced into Ryou's chest, causing Ryou to howl in pain.

"You will not win." Ichigo said, slashing his blade in thin air to get rid of the blood.

"Yes I will!" Ryou screamed, and sprang up for another attack. His voice sounded much deeper than before, almost demonic.

"You can never defeat us!"

Ichigo froze when he heard a shout of pain. Hitsugaya was on the ground, blood coming from his back. Hiraku had his blade pointed over Hitsugaya's injured body.

"Hitsugaya!" Ichigo called, and made a fatal mistake. Ryou attacked Ichigo with a kidou spell, sending him flying into a nearby building.

Ichigo slowly stood to his feet, his left arm holding up his right. Ryou laughed.

"How perfect! Try fighting with an injured arm now!" Ryou shouted, a smile on his face.

"Damn it…" Ichigo muttered, keeping his eyes locked on Ryou.

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"Where are we going?" Rukia asked, hands clutched onto Haru's back.

"As far as we can get until I get a sign that the fight is over." Haru replied, keeping his eyes forward. Rukia averted her eyes downward.

Something was bothering her…

But what was it?

"Haru stop." Rukia demanded. Haru shook his head.

"Look, we have to keep traveling so I can get to my sister and then we'll —"

Haru didn't say another word when his back suddenly felt lighter. He stopped in his tracks to see Rukia standing on the ground, facing the opposite direction.

"Kurosaki-san! What are you doing?" Haru asked. When she didn't reply Haru walked up next to her.

"What is it?" Haru asked in a softer voice. Rukia was staring at the forest, wondering about what she would do.

Why did she want to go back?

Was Ichigo in danger?

She had great faith in him, but then what was pulling her? Didn't Rukia want to stay away so she wouldn't have to see the faces of Hiraku and Ryou ever again? Didn't she want to erase their memories, their faces, from her mind? Rukia took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"I think I want to go back." Rukia stated. Haru's eyes widened.

"But Kurosaki-san! That's just what they want! If you go back then you'll only make it hard for Kurosaki-taichou to—"

"No it won't. I need to go back, now." Rukia demanded, looking at Haru.

Her eyes held great determination.

Haru sighed. "You know Kurosaki-taichou is going to have my head for this." He muttered.

Rukia smiled. "It won't be the first time." She replied. Haru chuckled, scratching his head.

"I guess my sister can wait a little longer." He mumbled. "You sure about this?" Haru asked.

Rukia nodded. "Yes." She replied. And so, she climbed onto Haru's back, and they head towards a battle that was raging on. A battle for pain

And for love.

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Ryou blocked Ichigo's weaker blade, pushing against it with ease.

"You shouldn't have brought others with you, because that will be your downfall." Ryou muttered, smiling as Ichigo struggled to push against the man.

"You think that by having support and kindness from other people that you will prevail don't you?" Ryou asked, laughing.

"We used to think like that, you know, believing in those around us. But they either died, or betrayed us, which was why using to get what we want by force became much better."

Ichigo gritted his teeth. "And that's why we used your wife Rukia, in more than just one way. We wanted her, and we knew she could possibly be a tool to a man we hate." Ryou muttered, pleased with the flicker of anger crossing Ichigo's face.

Ichigo screamed and pushed with all his might, ignoring the pain in his right arm. "You're wrong! Getting your way goes against humanity! In order to live, we have to gain things on our own, whether it hurts us in the end or not! Forcing or blackmailing someone into your getting what you want is wrong!" Ichigo shouted. He called out Getsuga Tenshou again, only to have Ryou block it.

"Pathetic. I've heard of how strong you are Kurosaki Ichigo. I've seen you train, and what you went through to save Rukia, and here you are before me, us, fighting for her and the pain we have caused you, are you're losing so easily. I don't understand."

Something blasted from Ryou's hand, causing Ichigo to swerve out of the way. He didn't have enough time though to avoid Ryou's punch. It sent Ichigo slamming onto the hard ground.

He felt pain and anger. Not only at the man he was fighting, but at himself. Why was he struggling against them? Ichigo knew he was strong, and he knew he had determination, so what was his problem.

Ichigo barely had time to avoid another kidou attack from Ryou. He rolled on the ground, standing slowly to his feet.

He couldn't lose, he just couldn't.

It was in his nature to protect, especially those he cared for the most. He couldn't even think of what would happen if he lost. The possibilities were just too awful.

"Rukia." He whispered, hoping she was safe. Ichigo somehow trusted in his assistant Haru, and knew that if both Ryou and Hiraku were defeated, they would be safe.

Ichigo's eyes widened when Hiraku suddenly joined Ryou, smiling. Ichigo shot his eyes to Hitsugaya, to see both him and Matsumoto on the ground unconscious.

"You don't stand a chance against both of us, let alone one of us. So before we defeat, we want to tell you of our plans." Hiraku said, moving to Ichigo.

"First, we're going to kill Kuchiki Byakuya. He's the main cause of our problems after all, so it's only natural that his life ends. Second," Hiraku paused and smiled before continuing. "We'll take Rukia away, and make her our slave or something, since Ryou and I just can't get enough of her."

"And third, we'll continue to get what we want, no matter what it is." Ryou finished. Ichigo felt the fire burning inside, and gripped his sword, completely ignoring the pain.

"No you will NOT!" Ichigo screamed, and ran towards Hiraku. His blade sliced into Hiraku's shoulder, causing a loud scream.

Ichigo squeezed his eyes closed when he felt something sharp hit his back. "It's over." He heard Ryou whisper from behind.

Hiraku moved to stab him in the front, but froze when something flew by him.

A pink petal.

Ichigo turned his head slowly, sensing the reiatsu. "No one can cut me down, at least by the likes of you." Kuchiki Byakuya muttered, standing proudly with steely eyes. Ryou pulled his blade from Ichigo's back, and he howled.

"Scatter." Byakuya commanded to his zanpaktou, his eyes on Hiraku. Because of the quickness of Byakuya's blade, and because of his rage, the pieces cut into the target, ravaging skin and cloth. Hiraku screamed one last time before falling to the ground.

"NO! I WILL NOT DIE! I HAVE NOT GOTTEN ALL THAT I WANT! RYOU!" Hiraku screamed, blood spilling from his wounds. Kuchiki Byakuya stood over him.

"You're treachery is at end monster, now go to hell where you belong." Byakuya demanded. In one sickening motion, Hiraku's eyes dulled, and his body stopped moving.

"Hiraku…no…" Ryou whispered, staring at the body of his dead brother.

"Why do you take away?" He asked, looking up at Byakuya. Byakuya said nothing.

"Why do you think you are better? You've now taken three lives away from me!" Ryou shouted, taking a step towards Byakuya.

Ichigo put a hand on Ryou, stopping him. "You have no right to say such thing." Ichigo muttered, blood crawling down his face. Ryou turned to Ichigo.

"And YOU! You claim you want to save your wife and you're more injured than I am! You don't love her at all! Not like I do! She is everything to me and I will defeat you both and take her away!"

"No you will not!" Rukia shouted from behind them all. Ichigo turned slowly to see her, and was amazed at her determination. Her zanpaktou was out and already released, gripped tightly in her hand.

"You do not love me, you loved my sister, and now she is gone. It is NOT Nii-sama's fault, but no one's. Hisana chose to marry him. She died because of sickness, not because of my brother. And Ichigo loves me greatly, so do not insult him otherwise." Rukia said, her eyes glued bravely on Ryou's.

"Even if you walked away and did kill Nii-sama and Ichigo, you would never have won. You would still stay the same, getting what you want, simply because you want it. I will never have mercy for you and you're brother, not only because the pain you have caused me and the ones I love, but simply because you do not know how to live." Rukia paused again, gripping her sword tighter.

"You are a _hollow._ The only way you know how to live is to feed on others, not caring about the suffering they have to endure, because you feel you must do it survive, not thinking twice on why you do what you do. It feels natural and good at the same time. And we, the Shinigami, must cut you down." Rukia finished, pointing her blade out now.

Ryou laughed. "Oh Rukia, you're logic is all wrong. We knew what we were doing, and though I'll admit that it did come naturally, we did it because we wanted to."

"And that is why you can no longer live." Rukia said. Ryou shook his head, moving towards Rukia instead.

"I didn't want to do this, but I guess I'll have to kill you too. You really look just like Hisana, but I think I like you more, because of your attitude. Oh well, the fun is over anyways." Ryou muttered. Rukia prepared her attack.

"Rukia!" Ichigo shouted, but was silenced by Byakuya.

"She has gone through more pain than any of us, so let her fight. Rukia will not lose." Byakuya stated, staring out at his sister. Ichigo relaxed a little, knowing that Byakuya was right. The pains from his wounds subsided as he watched Rukia move.

"So you want to play little Rukia?" Ryou asked, walking in circles around her.

"Do not insult me." She replied, zanpaktou ready. Ryou grinned one last time and charged towards her. Rukia brought her blade up to block it.

"You shouldn't have come back." Ryou whispered to her.

"I have every right to be here!" Rukia called back and pushed him off. Seeing that he was in her grasp, Rukia called out her first dance.

"Some no mai, tsukishiro." She called out, trapping Ryou in her attack. He jumped up into the air, which did no good as the ice flew up into the air, wrapping around him. The ice started breaking, pulling up to where Ryou was.

Rukia closed her eyes, bringing her sword down.

"Rukia!" Byakuya called out. She looked at her brother to see him looking at the ice.

Ryou was gone.

In a flash, Ryou was behind her, grabbing hold of her waist. Ryou pointed his sword to her neck.

"You cannot defeat me." Ryou whispered to her, licking her cheek.

"RUKIA!" Ichigo screamed and moved towards her.

"You will all lose!" Ryou cried, and brought his blade to Rukia's stomach. "I'll end both of our lives together." He whispered to Rukia. She gasped, understanding that he would stab them both.

"NO!" Ichigo screamed. Rukia continued to struggle against him, but it did no good as his hold on her was too strong.

"Say goodbye to everything Rukia, because you won't see them ever again." He whispered, and began bringing his sword down.

She waited for the blade to make contact with her flesh, but it never came. Instead, she heard the sound of a sword falling to the ground. Ryou's hold on her loosened, and she stumbled away.

He was clutching his stomach, blood flowing out uncontrollably. "Wha-what?" Ryou whispered.

"It's over." Haru muttered, pulling his sword out of Ryou's back. Ryou sank to the floor slowly and quietly, shock filled in his eyes.

"It will never be over…" Ryou whispered. His eyes slowly closed, and his reiatsu faded away completely.

"Thank you Haru." Rukia said to him smiling. He nodded to her, cleaning his blade off. She turned slowly to Ichigo, suddenly aware of his wounds.

"We need to get Hitsugaya and Matsumoto to Unohana, they're hurt pretty bad, and —" Ichigo cut off any words he spoke when he felt the pains of his own wounds. He began falling to the ground, but was caught by someone.

Rukia helped him onto the ground, and kept him on her lap. "Ichigo you idiot." Rukia whispered, staring down at her husband.

"I'm fine really. I'm more worried about you." He whispered back. A tear fell down Rukia's cheek, and Ichigo wiped it away.

"Of course you would worry about me, but it's ok Ichigo, its over." Rukia said with a smile. The monsters were dead, gone for ever, and they could never hurt anyone again.

"Yah Rukia, it is. Let's go home now." He said to her. Rukia placed a hand on his shoulder softly.

"Let's get you and everyone healed first." Rukia replied. She lifted her head to find Byakuya sending a black butterfly away.

"Unohana and some other assistance will be here shortly." Byakuya stated, glancing at Rukia and Ichigo. Rukia nodded, turning her head back to Ichigo.

"They must have been very strong to do so much damage to you and Hitsugaya." Rukia whispered. Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"Just because I didn't beat them doesn't mean —" Rukia put a finger to Ichigo's lips, silencing him.

"I meant what I said. You are the strongest, and it is a great insult when someone says otherwise, not only to you, but to me. You fought for me Ichigo, this whole past year, and to me, that's why you never lost. Even if your life had been taken today, I would never think of you as weak, or that you lost. I know you better than that.. I love you." She whispered as she moved her head closer to his.

Rukia kissed him softly, placing her hands gently on his back and shoulder. He kissed her back, bringing an arm up weakly to hold onto hers.

They're trials of the worst were over, and though it had been a strange and rough battle, it was finished. A burden was lifted that day from Rukia, and she could finally heal completely, because she would not have to think of them coming back.

The love Rukia felt from her friends and family was much greater than the pain of two men, who had hurt her and many other people deeply.

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**A/N: **WOW. I can't believe it, the final battle took place! And before you go saying that Ichigo looked weak when he was fighting Ryou, please know that he is NOT. I wanted everyone to portray that they all went through pain, and so I made it to where Rukia, Haru, and Byakuya could fight, because they all suffered as well. We all know that Ichigo's bad at thinking when it comes to a fight, and when something like anger consumes him in a battle, I don't think he does too hot (and he was VERY angry while fighting). So please, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it was probably kind of messy. I'm not too good at writing battle scenes, so please read and review. Once again, I am soo sorry for the really late update. You have every right to throw a pie at my face, so go for it. But please review!

There WILL be an epilogue, and no, it won't take three months to get out (probably like…a week or two since I actually WANT to write it).

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!


	17. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach mmk?

After all this time, the end finally comes.

The Secrets We Hide

**Epilogue**

_**TWO YEARS AND SEVEN MONTHS LATER**_

"Haru! What are you doing?" Ichigo barked as he walked into the room. Haru snapped his head up, nearly dropping his blade on the ground.

"I'm sorry Kurosaki-taichou! I was just training!" Haru replied, averting his eyes to the ground. Haru had the feeling that his captain was upset about something, and he had no idea why.

"Oh, you're training? Why? Its' almost time to go home for the day?" Ichigo asked in a much calmer voice, scratching his head. Haru shrugged his shoulders.

"Well we're actually ahead with all the paperwork for once and since everyone left I thought I'd go ahead and train for a little while." Haru replied.

"Ah, I see. Well, you can continue to train if you want. I would stay and train too, but I have somewhere I have to be."

Haru grinned. "Somewhere with Kurosaki-san?" He asked. Ichigo glared at him, crossing his arms.

"Maybe, so what? She is my wife yah know, and we like to try and do things together when we get the chance. Aren't you getting one of those soon?" Ichigo asked.

"Getting what?"

"A wife!" Ichigo replied. Haru blushed a little, turning to the side.

"Yes, I am, and I still don't know when the wedding is." Haru said sheepishly. Ichigo sighed.

"A little advice? Make sure you tell Yamamoto-taichou ahead of time, so you're wedding won't be delayed. That's happened to a lot of people. The only reason Rukia and I didn't have to wait was because Kuchiki Byakuya is her brother."

There was a knock at the door, and Ichigo and Rukia turned their heads. "Er, come in!" Ichigo called. It was the training room, so why were people knocking? 

"Oh, hi Kurosaki-taichou, I was looking for Haru —oh, there you are." Kotetsu Kiyone, Haru's fiancée said, stepping into the room.

"Well I'll leave you two alone, I've got to get home. You know how she is with her mood swings." Ichigo muttered.

Kiyone grinned. "Yes, and pretty soon she won't be able to train all the younger Shinigami. That stomach of hers is already looking like a watermelon." She said giggling.

"Yah well, don't say that in front of her, or she might scream or hit you." Ichigo muttered back. He waved goodbye to them and headed home.

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"Rukia! You really shouldn't be walking around so much!" Matsumoto called.

"I'm fine Matsumoto! I'm only seven months along." Rukia said stubbornly as she walked from one side of the room to the other.

"Oh right, _only_ seven months along, which means you have about two months until that baby is born." Matsumoto replied sarcastically. Rukia rolled her eyes and picked up a Chappy doll.

"I can't believe Nii-sama spent all this money for the baby's room. We think it's going to be a boy, but I'm not sure." Rukia stated, placing the Chappy doll back in the crib.

Hinamori appeared in the room. "I got some tea! Does anybody want some?" She asked happily. Matsumoto grinned and took one of the small cups, passing another to Rukia.

"Did you happen to grab any chocolate?" Rukia asked. Hinamori looked guilty.

"Oh I'm so sorry! I'll go get you some right away."

Rukia shook her head. "No don't worry about it, I'll get it myself." Rukia replied, moving to the doorway. Hinamori placed her hands on the petite woman's shoulders.

"Rukia! If you put too much strain on your body than it could hurt the baby! You know me and Ran don't mind doing this for you, so let us help!" Hinamori nearly shouted, shaking Rukia's shoulders in the process.

"You guys really are overprotective. I think you might be worse than Ichigo." She mumbled. Both Hinamori and Matsumoto started to laugh.

"Oh please, don't get us started on Ichigo." Matsumoto snorted, taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"Seriously, he barely lets you go to your division, let alone leave the house." Hinamori replied with a smile. Rukia rolled her eyes.

"He's not that bad, not as bad as I thought he would be. And its not like I can move around too much, minus my own house. Really, I can go get the chocolate."

"If Ichigo were to find out we let you walk down the stairs by yourself, he would definitely want to go bankai on us, so really, stop being so stubborn and let us do it!" Hinamori cried. Rukia didn't get to argue as Hinamori left the room.

"Hinamori really hates the ten year rule thing, you know with having children? She says she and Hitsugaya are ready for children, but there's nothing they can do." Matsumoto stated.

"Well let's just say I know I'm ready for children, because we've had to wait so long." Rukia replied, earning a chuckle from Matsumoto.

"You're stomach looks so big. It looks strange on your small body." Matsumoto said, staring at Rukia's stomach. She glared at the busty woman.

"Yah well it's not my fault." Rukia replied, plopping down on a couch in the room. Matsumoto suddenly perked up.

"I think Ichigo is home." Matsumoto said, rising to her feet. Rukia's face lit up.

"I think he is too." She replied, standing up slowly. "Will you help me down the stairs?" Rukia asked.

"Yah come on." Matsumoto stated. And so, Rukia and Matsumoto left the bedroom and found the stairway. Rukia's movements were slow going down, as it was hard to see the steps underneath her due to her large belly. Matsumoto had to catch her once because Rukia nearly slipped.

After taking a deep breath, Rukia continued down the stairs. She could see him from where they were on the steps, talking to Hinamori it looked like. Rukia knew it was rather silly, but for some reason, she was excited to see her husband finally home for the day. Because of her pregnancy, Rukia didn't go to her division as often, and was cooped up in the house all day long with one of Byakuya's maids, who helped her move around and get things Rukia couldn't get herself.

Ichigo's head turned when they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Alright, well here's your chocolate Rukia. I guess me and Ran should get going." Hinamori said, waving at the two. Rukia smiled at them and watched them leave.

"How long have they been here?" Ichigo asked, turning his head away from the door.

"Just a few hours. They're a big help." Rukia replied, pressing a hand to her stomach. Ichigo moved towards her slowly and wrapped his arms around her.

"How was your day?" Ichigo asked. Rukia smiled up at him.

"Kind of boring." She replied. Ichigo chuckled lightly and brought his head down far enough so he could kiss her on the lips.

"Well sorry." He replied once he pulled away. Rukia kissed him again, letting her hands touch his hair. Ichigo leaned further down and kissed her stomach.

"How do yah feel?" Ichigo asked, rubbing Rukia's bulging tummy. She smiled, happy at his soft touch.

"A little tired, but fine other than that." She said softly, running a hand over his back. Ichigo stood back up with a smile on his face.

"Well I thought we could go outside for a little while or something." Ichigo stated. Rukia smiled.

"Yah, I haven't been outside in who knows how long, because someone won't ever let me out." Rukia muttered. Ichigo smirked at his wife.

"Well maybe someone is worried that the person will fall over since her belly is twice the size of her entire body." Ichigo replied. It didn't matter if Rukia had a huge stomach, nothing stopped her from elbowing him in the stomach, which was conveniently at the right height for her.

Ichigo sighed. "Even when you're pregnant you still feel the need to kick me around." He mumbled. Rukia grinned widely and grabbed his hand.

"Are we going or what?" She asked impatiently. Ichigo entwined his fingers with hers and the two headed out the door.

"Where are we going anyways?" Rukia asked, hoping wherever they went wasn't far. She would never admit it, but she did really get tired easily, especially from walking for some reason. Ichigo knew she got tired though, and never pushed her.

"Not far, just down to the river. It's kinda nice outside today." He said, lifting his head to see the blue sky over them. They continued walking, and Ichigo noticed a few people staring at Rukia, and her stomach.

"How come people look at you like your some sort of alien?" He asked, glaring at the people walking by. Rukia sighed.

"I've told you this before. Pregnancies in Soul Society are not common like they are in the human world. Probably one or two women in Seireitei get pregnant each year, because of the ten year rule. I told you we can't have another child for another ten years right?"

Ichigo's eyes widened. "No, you did NOT tell me that! Holy crap! Why is it like that?" He asked.

"Because idiot, think about it. In Soul Society, the chance of a person dying is much lower than that of the human world, so with all these people in Soul Society, there has to be a barrier to the amount of children that can be born."

"Soul Society is weird." Ichigo muttered, rubbing his neck in annoyance. Rukia smiled, happy that she annoyed him.

They made it to the river in no time, though Rukia was already drained of a lot of energy. He helped her sit down, and moved next to her.

"When is this baby going to come out?" She groaned, rubbing her stomach. Ichigo chuckled.

"Soon enough." He replied, taking Rukia's hand in his. They sat and watched the water, when Rukia noticed something.

"What is that next to the river?" She asked. Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. Rukia tried to stand, and had to once again get assistance from Ichigo, who for a strange reason did not complain. Once she was on her feet, Rukia moved towards the object, curious.

"Ichigo did you?" Rukia asked, eyes widening at what was in front of her. He nodded, seeing the happy look on her face. Rukia moved towards the rocking chair slowly, and sat down.

"Where did you get this?" Rukia asked. Ichigo shrugged his shoulders.

"I know a few people from the human world, though I discovered it's really hard to transport things from the human world to Soul Society." Ichigo said.

"Is that why Nii-sama didn't get me one? Because he said he was going to, but then he never did." Rukia asked. Ichigo nodded.

"Yah, well I was sick of your brother getting everything, so I decided to at least get something for the room, since I know you want a good room for the baby." He replied. It wasn't that Ichigo didn't want a good room for his baby, but he knew how it made Rukia feel like a mother.

"I love it Ichigo." She whispered, her voice cracking slightly. Ichigo had the feeling she would cry, but only because of how emotional she could get. And so, he walked towards her, kneeling in front of her.

"You don't have to cry." He whispered, wiping a tear from her cheek. She sniffed, wiping away her own tear.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. Ichigo kissed her on the lips, and helped her stand up.

"I guess I better carry this back home. I brought it here because I thought you'd like a nice surprise." 

"I hate surprises Ichigo." Rukia said, wiping the last tear away. He smirked.

"Well I think you liked this one." He replied. Rukia sighed and they made their way back home.

Night slowly came, and Ichigo and Rukia settled into their bed. She had a tank top with some pants on instead of a yukata, knowing Ichigo liked to steal a peak at her stomach.

And so, Rukia plopped her head up against the wall, sitting up a little, while Ichigo leaned over her body, keeping his head at her stomach. She lifted her shirt right before her chest, and let Ichigo rub her stomach soothingly. Every once in a while he would kiss it gently, earning a sweet smile from Rukia.

"I still can't believe you got me a rocking chair." She mumbled. Ichigo glanced up at her. "Why? Did you think I wouldn't remember?" He asked.

"It's happened before. I can't even recall how many times I've told you to do something for me, and you forget." She said playfully. Ichigo kissed her stomach again.

"Well I knew I couldn't forget this, because you for some reason had to have one, though in the human world a lot of woman get rocking chairs for their babies, because it helps them fall asleep, or they get a recliner."

"What's a recliner?" Rukia asked.

"Ah, don't worry about it." He replied. Rukia shrugged her shoulders and leaned her head back, enjoying the touch of Ichigo's hand caressing her bare skin. Her eyes fluttered open when she felt Ichigo's body shifting. He moved up next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. Rukia let her hands rest on his chest, leaning her head into his neck.

"I still can't believe you're gonna have baby."

"You mean _we're_ going to have a baby." Rukia corrected. Ichigo, still being a close enough to her stomach, brought his hand back down and continued to rub it gently.

"Why do you love touching my stomach so much? Do you like the fact that I'm curvy for once?" Rukia asked, smiling. Ichigo chuckled.

"I don't know, it just feels kind of cool I guess. And besides, I don't know who is saying you aren't curvy, because you really are." He replied. Rukia frowned.

"Is that good or bad?" Rukia asked. Ichigo noticed her serious tone, and shook his head.

"Oi Rukia, it's a good thing! Men like curves, at least I do, so it's a good thing. I mean you aren't too curvy, but enough for me to visibly see them when we're yah know…alone." He replied.

For some reason when Ichigo said the comment about men liking curves, something pulled at the pit of her stomach. She didn't know what it was, until it was too late. Rukia's hand clenched tighter on Ichigo's shirt, closing her eyes in pain.

Ichigo's hand left her stomach so that it could touch her face. "Did I say something to make you upset?" He asked in a soft voice. Ichigo was still extremely sensitive around the subject, even if it had been almost three years. Every once in a while, the smallest thing could make her remember what they both suffered, but it was only at the rarest of moments, which was why Ichigo was so sweet to her.

"It's ok, just had a moment there." Rukia replied, relaxing again. She had accepted what happened, and moved on. Rukia had fully recovered, and though she would see their faces every once in a while, it was becoming less and less. She could even talk about it sometimes to Ichigo, or any close friends. Rukia told Renji everything as well, seeing that he was practically a brother to her.

Their lives had changed, but it was for the good. Rukia understood that even though she never wished to experience what she went through, that it made her a stronger person. She saw the goodness in her life because of what happened, and the love around her. And though Ichigo has saved her countless times, there was just something different from the last one that she couldn't figure out. Perhaps it was because of what they did to her, and why they did it, but either way, Rukia and Ichigo's already strong love and bond for one another grew tremendously, and she knew she couldn't live a day without him.

"Do you want to go to sleep?" Ichigo asked, seeing that Rukia wasn't moving very much. She shook her head.

"I'm sick of sleeping." She mumbled. Ichigo smirked.

"Well you kind of need to since you're carrying another person." He reminded her. Rukia brought her head up to his.

"You know, I've been pregnant for seven months now, and I don't think we've had sex the whole time."

It was the cutest thing in the world when Ichigo suddenly blushed, his eyes widening slightly. She kissed him quickly, and laughed.

"I was just joking Ichigo, I'm way too tired, but I don't see why we can't make out for a little while."

Ichigo's face was suddenly mischievous, his hand gripping her waist tightly. "You weren't joking, I know it." He said, bringing a hand slowly up from her stomach to her chest. Rukia grinned, moving a hand to cup his face.

"No, I guess I wasn't. I'm not that tired anyways." She replied. And so, Ichigo began kissing her, much more deeply than the little kiss Rukia gave him. Rukia was happy for the love Ichigo gave her, because nothing could ever beat it. He was her everything, and even being taken against her will to do something she never thought she would have been forced to do couldn't keep her love from dying down.

It only strengthened it.

**THE END.**

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**A/N: **AWWW! It's over!! I really like writing about Rukia pregnant, it's very fun! And I know this chapter probably sounded more like a one-shot, but that was kind of the point. It was just to show their lives and how much better Ichigo and Rukia are. I hope I portrayed everything correctly throughout the story, with Rukia getting raped and all. I don't know if I said it before, but I have personally experienced sexual abuse, and to this day I still think about it. I know I'm not the only one out there, so this is dedicated to those that know what it feels like, and anyone else they might know that has suffered something they should never have to experience.

I would like to thank every single person that has reviewed for this story. I know the last chapter took eons to get out, but I apologize again (seriously, I feel guilt like no other). So please, as a last favor, review. It means the world to me to hear your sweet comments (well mostly sweet hehe). I hope you will read my future stories to come (or stories that I have already finished).

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!


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